Far From Angel
by Marysa Way
Summary: This is about a girl named Angel who has a rough past. FYI, I'm bad at summaries. OCxKid or OCxSoul, haven't decided.
1. Definitely Not an Angel

_Angel's POV_

I dressed in my usual outfit, a black tank top with a fishnet sleeve on only my left arm, my denim shorts, red belt, black and red diamond thigh-high on the right, red and black striped thigh-high and the left, and my black converse. I clipped back my black bangs with two red hair clips and ran through the door. The walk to the DWMA was going to be long.

On my way to the academy, I stopped in front of a huge mansion. A boy and two girls came out the door. Stupid rich kids. When the boy noticed me, I kept walking.

I finally arrived at the school and went straight to the Death Room. "Lord Death?" I said cautiously. Lord Death turned around and walked up to me.

"May I help, you young lady?" he asked me in his goofy voice.

"Yeah, I enrolled here. My name is Angel." I told him. Lord Death nodded his head at me.

"Ya, ya. I remember now. You're in class Crescent Moon."

"Okay, thanks."

I left the Death Room and found my down the winding hallways until I came to a red door with a sign on it that read 'Class Crescent Moon'. I knocked on the door gingerly. A man with silver hair and weird stitched clothing answered. "You must be the new student. I'm Professor Stein. Come in." I sighed and walked into the classroom. Professor Stein was back at his desk. "Everyone, we have a new student. Her name is Angel and she does not have a partner. I can see why, with her soul." he explained.

"Yeah, yeah. Tell my life story, why don't ya?" I told him sarcastically. Everyone stared at me and the professor seemed taken aback by my words. I was sure no one talked to him like that before. He shook it off and spoke very sternly.

"You can have a seat next to Kid. Kid, stand up, so Miss Angel knows where you are." I turned to the row of desks and saw a boy with three white stripes on the left side of his black hair stand up. Oh, no. He's that kid I saw at the mansion. I have to sit next to some snobby rich boy. I sucked it up and walked up to the row Kid was in. I just hoped he didn't try to talk to me. "Hello, I'm Kid. Welcome to the academy. I saw you this morning when you walked by my house" Kid said. Oh great.

"Hi. I'm done talking to you." I deadpanned. Kid seemed shocked. He cleared his throat.

"Your name definitely doesn't describe your personality…"

I smirked when he said that. He was right. But how was I supposed to be a _perfect little angel_ if I had grown up with no adults around since I was seven? The way I dressed should have already given notice about that. "Look, I'm not here to make friends. I don't know about you, but, I'm here to be a powerful meister. I appreciate you being nice, but I'm not. So deal with it or disappear." I told him.

"I can deal with it." Kid said as he smirked. Okay, so maybe not all rich kids are snobby. I suppose I could get used to him.

**After Class**

I emerged from the school and sat down on the steps. Somebody tapped me on the shoulder. I turned around and saw Kid with the two girls behind me. "Hi Angel. This is Liz and Patty, my weapons." Kid said and sat down next to me. I waved casually to them and stared at my feet.

"Hey, Kid. Patty and I are gonna go talk to Tsubaki and Maka." Liz reported. Kid nodded his head and they left. There was silence between us. Kid soon broke that precious silence.

"So, you don't have a partner?"

"I _had_ a partner. I left her years ago." I grimaced at the sour memory of Atami. Kid gasped

"Why? You're never supposed to leave your partner."

I sighed. "I'll tell you some other time." I said and got up to leave, but he grabbed my wrist. I turned back. "What?"

"I'm having dinner tonight with a few friends at my house. Would you like to come? Maybe you tell me about your old partner then." Kid said. I was shocked. We just met and he's inviting me to his house. I thought about it for a second.

"Maybe." I told him. Kid let go of my wrist. He seemed a little upset. I paid no attention and left.

Once back to my house, I actually thought about going to Kid's house for dinner. I checked the cabinets. Nothing. Then fridge and freezer. Again, nothing. Okay, I'm going to Kid's house. Then, grocery shopping.

**At Kid's House**

I arrived at Kid's house around 9:30. I knocked on the big black door and waited for someone to answer. "Hi Angel! Kid said you weren't gonna come, but you did!" Patty said as she answered the door. She gestured me in and led me to the dining room. I counted five people, not including Patty. They all stared at me. "Hey, everybody! Angel's here!" Patty exclaimed. They all went back to their food except Kid.

"I'm glad you came, Angel. Have a seat." Kid said and pointed to a chair next to a boy with blue hair. I sat down awkwardly and stared at my plate. Maybe I shouldn't have come anyways…

"Angel, why don't you tell us about your old partner?" Kid asked. I looked up and everyone was looking at me again.

"Only if everyone doesn't stare at me for once." I said flatly. Everyone looked away except the kid next to me.

"I don't mind if people stare at me. Who wouldn't stare at such a big star like me!" he shouted. I rolled my eyes. Kid looked back at me again.

"So, Angel, tell us about her." he begged. I sighed.

"Well, a couple years ago, I had a partner, Atami. She was a good partner, my best friend even. But she was different. Different around everyone else but me. Around everyone else, she was somebody I didn't know, didn't _want_ to know. She was this snobby girly-girl who thought she was better than everyone. Atami fooled me, everyone actually. She used Soul Protect to make it seem like our soul wavelengths matched perfectly. They did a little in reality, enough for me to pick her up. I can see souls. But only a little bit. And once when she was at my house, she thought I was sleeping and took off Soul Protect. I saw her true soul then. I made her leave my house. No, I made her leave my life. I didn't want a partner who pretended to be something they're not. Or one who lied to me all the time."


	2. Abandonment

"What the fuck did I just say? Stop staring at me!" I shouted. Nobody stopped staring at me. I stood up and headed for the door. Kid grabbed my arm.

"Don't leave. It's just; it's hard to believe a partner would that." he looked at me fondly.

"So, what? You don't believe me? That's fine, I don't care." I snapped. I turned back around to leave, but Kid pulled me back.

"No, we believe you but we're just shocked."

I turned to face everyone at the table. They looked at me sympathetically. Kid let go of my arm and I sat back down at the table. A girl with blonde pigtails stared at me. "What are you looking at, Blondie?" I asked, somewhat politely.

"Huh? Oh. You're soul. Professor Stein was right; it would be difficult to find you a partner. But not impossible. There are a few students who might match your soul's wavelength." she said cheerily. Some kid with red eyes like mine nudged her.

"Maka, don't be such a creep. You remember when Stein kept looking at your soul; you didn't like that did you?"

Maka shook her head. "Then do you think Angel does?" the kid asked.

"No, probably not. Sorry, Angel." Maka apologized and smiled. I smiled back. Maka's smile seemed genuine, like she understood somehow. Kid stood up and raised his right hand.

"Everyone, let's introduce ourselves properly to Angel." he said and smiled in my direction.

The kid with red eyes stood up. "Hey, I'm Soul. I'm a scythe and Maka is my partner." Soul sat back down. Maka stood up.

"I'm Maka and I'm a one-star meister." she straightened her skirt and sat back down, her genuine smile lingered on her face the whole time. The kid who was sitting next to me stood up on his chair and set one foot on the table. "I AM THE GREAT ASSASIN BLACKSTAR! I WILL SURPASS GOD! YAHOO!" he sat back down with a huge smile on his face. I smirked and jumped out of my chair.

"Oh my god! You mean _the_ Black Star! Wow, I can't believe I'm sitting next to you!" I fan-girl screamed. Black Star smiled even bigger.

"So, you've heard of me?" he asked, as if he'd expected it.

"No. I thought it'd be funny to see your reaction. Not as funny as I wanted it to be. Oh well." I deadpanned. His smile melted away like goo as everyone else laughed. The girl next to him giggled and stood up, her hands crossed behind her back.

"I'm Tsubaki; it's nice to meet you Angel." Tsubaki sat back down, still giggling. Kid stood back up.

"I don't think Liz, Patty, and I need to introduce ourselves, do we?" he asked me sweetly.

"Nope. I'm gonna eat now, though. I'm starving!" I told him as I picked up my fork and started shoving mouthfuls of ham down my throat.

**Two Hours Later**

I sat on the couch next to Maka. Everyone else was still in the dining room, helping Kid with the dishes or just talking. "I know what happened with your family." Maka said shakily. The words shocked me. I looked at her. Her green eyes were a little sympathetic, more so than when she found out about Atami.

"What do you mean?" I asked her, unsure of what exactly was going on. Maka sighed and looked away for a moment then looked back at me.

"When, I saw your soul, there was a part of it linked to your family. I know what happened when you were seven."

My eyes went wide. I looked around the room to check if anyone else was listening. I couldn't tell, so I grabbed Maka's wrist and pulled her away from the room and into another one. "Damn soul perception… What do you know?" I asked her frantically. She searched the room with her eyes.

"Not much, all I know is that either you abandoned your family or that they abandoned you when you were seven. I know that you had a mom, dad, and a little sister named Ruhana."

"Alright, don't tell anybody else about that okay? I've worked hard to forget that part of my life. I really don't want anybody else to know about it."

"Sure. But what exactly happened?"

"I'll tell you tomorrow after school."

Maka nodded her head. "We can go to your house, then."

I shook head quickly. "No! Um, we can meet up at your house. My house is, uh, really messy. I don't want guests over at a messy house, I mean, who does? So your house?" I spoke so fast I could barely understand what I said, but Maka seemed to.

"Okay, sure! See you tomorrow then." she smiled and left the room. I sighed and left too. As I walked back into the kitchen, I checked the time on my cell phone that had not had a single contact in it. It was almost midnight. If I was going to leave, it would have to be soon. When I looked up from my phone, I realized that pretty much everyone was gone, except for Maka who was saying her goodbyes to Kid, Patty, and Liz. She waved at me and left. I sat on top the table and swung my legs back and forth like a child.

"It's pretty late, I think I'm gonna leave too." I told Kid. I went to the door, waved goodbye and walked outside. Before I closed the door, I looked out around the other buildings. I noticed some guy dressed in all black with his hood up, smoking a cigarette. He was staring at me. My heart pounded in my chest. A gentle grip grabbed me by my shoulders and pulled me back inside. I closed the door and turned around to see it was Liz. "Maybe you should stay here for the night. It's not safe for you to be walking home by yourself past midnight." she said, staring out the window at the hooded man. I nodded my head, agreeing. We went back into the kitchen. Liz had told me Patty was already upstairs, settling in. Kid turned around from the last dish in the sink and saw I was still there.

"I thought you were leaving." he told me. I shook my head.

"Angel's staying here for the night." Liz explained. Kid nodded his head and told her to show me the guest room. She led me up a flight of stairs and down the hall to a small room.

"You can borrow a pair of my pajamas." Liz told me with a smile. We went back to her room and I tried on a pair of pajamas. Too small. So looks like I'm sleeping in my clothes for the night. I went back to the guest room and sat on the bed. I sighed and slipped off my thigh-highs and denim shorts and crawled under the covers. I thought about the events of the day until I fell asleep.


	3. Uncovering the Past

_**Flashback**_

"_You're a disgrace to this family!" Mother yelled. I cowered back in the corner. "You don't even know what weapon you are, Ruhana does! Everyone in this family is a weapon! I don't know even know why we keep you around! You're just a no-good little brat!" she continued. That last sentence got to me. I stopped shaking and stood up. I wiped away my tears and stared intensely into Mother's light blue eyes. She slapped my right cheek. "Stop that! You and your stupid red eyes! Where did you get those? Your father and I have blue eyes as well as your sister!" I kept staring. Mother went to strike me again. I grabbed her wrist and squeezed hard. The evil look on her face melted into pain. She made a choking noise and shut her eyes._

"_Don't ever slap me again." I said sternly. She sunk to her knees and I let go. I began to walk away, but Mother grabbed my bright yellow sundress. "Let go." I told her. She shook her head. I got really mad, I could've sworn there was fire in my eyes. "I said. Let. Go." I broke down the sentence._

"_No. You don't tell me what to do, you little brat."_

"_LET GO!" I screamed with every ounce of my voice. Her eyes went wide and she couldn't let go then, she was too shocked. I pulled hard and ripped my dress. I stomped up the stairs and into my room. As I grabbed my red duffel bag, I thought about what I was doing. Was it right? They were my family. And maybe I just wasn't trying hard enough to unlock my weapon form. No, I was trying. And I knew why I wasn't unlocking it. _

_I finished packing and changed my clothes. Instead of my torn yellow sundress, I wore a red t-shirt, white mini-skirt and black sneakers. I pulled back my black hair into a messy bun and walked out of my bedroom. I finished descending the stairs when my whole family caught me. "Where do you think you're going, Angelina?" Father asked. I looked at Ruhana. Her blue eyes were wide and she was on the verge of crying._

"_Anywhere but here." I said calmly. I wicked smile crossed both my mother and father's faces._

"_You're only seven, little girl." he told me. I smirked and swerved around them. _

"_Mom doesn't even know why you keep me around. I'm only a no-good brat." I told them. I had just twisted the doorknob when my mother grabbed my arm and threw me backwards._

"_You're not going anywhere." she told me matter-of-factly._

"_Yes I am." I turned back around, but she pulled me back again. I remembered what happened when I screamed at her earlier and did it again. "LET ME GO!" Mother and Father went stiff. Ruhana stared at them and then at me. I stepped between them and right in front of her. "Stop staring." I instructed. Ruhana looked down at her feet then embraced me in a hug._

"_I'll miss you." She told me. She started crying and I felt a tear roll down my cheek. We parted and I went back to the door._

"_Wha-what kind of weapon are you?" I heard Mother cry. I whipped my head around._

"_I'm not a weapon. I'm a meister. And you're a bitch." I told her and left._

I bolted upright in bed, breathing heavily. Just a dream. It felt real though. I got up and peered through the curtains of one the windows. The eerily smiling sun shined bright and I checked to see what time it was. Noon already? Oh well, might as well go down for breakfast. I stretched my arms and legs. The door opened. "Angel, are you-" Kid said. He stopped when he saw I was only in my underwear. I pulled my tank top over my legs and shoved him out the door.

"Knock much, pervert?" I asked jokingly. I heard footsteps walking away from the door and went back to the side of the bed and slipped my shorts and thigh-highs back on. I sighed and went downstairs to the kitchen. Liz and Patty were making breakfast and Kid was sitting at the table, staring at his cup of coffee, his face was cherry-red.

"Morning, Angel. Toast?" Liz asked me. I nodded my head and sat next to Kid. I sighed and tapped him on the shoulder. He gasped and barely looked at me.

"You might wanna knock next time." I told him. I couldn't be too mad at him. After all, he thought I was borrowing something from Liz. He nodded his head slowly and went back to his coffee. _Boys… they're always like that,_ I thought to myself. A plate of toast appeared in front of me. I thanked Liz and ate slowly.

"You gonna walk to school with us Angel, it'd be fun!" Patty said. She seemed hyper. I rolled my eyes at my plate.

"Sure, why not." I told her with a smile. She clapped her hands went to the other room with Liz, leaving Kid and I alone.

"Angel, I-" Kid started. I put my hand up, a signal for him to stop.

"It's fine. No big deal. Let's just not talk about it. Ever."

He nodded his head, understanding. I got up and went to the living room, Kid followed soon after. "I'm ready to leave whenever you guys are." I said as I pulled on my converse. They all nodded and we headed out the door to school.

We got to school kind of early so I had time to look around. Classroom after classroom… so boring. Then I found an old classroom that was empty. I decided to look inside. Nothing there but an old teacher's desk and the row students' desks. There was something small and faint written on the chalkboard. 'An' and 'gel'. In front of 'gel' I saw the incredibly hard to see letters of 'evan' so they were discussing evangel for some reason. The words were so close it looked like it said 'Angel' which is my name. It seemed like the room was meant for me, and it gave me an idea.


	4. Red is Not the Girlfriend

I smiled devilishly, grabbed the key on the hook by the door, walked out of the classroom, and locked the room up. I wasn't walking for long when I ran into Soul. "Hey, Red. What are you doing?" he asked me. I gave him a questioning look.

"Red?" I asked him, wondering about my nickname.

"Your eyes, they're red." he said casually. _Speak for yourself,_ I thought.

"Oh. Well, I was early and thought I might have a look around." I told him. Soul nodded his head.

"I see. Well we got 10 minutes 'til class starts. Mind if I come too?"

"Haven't you had your own time to do that?"

"Yeah, but I never did. So how 'bout it, Red?"

"Sure, why not."

I shrugged my shoulders and we began walking together. It was silent until we came to a random door at the end of the hallway. "Wonder what's behind there." I said.

"Probably just a balcony." Soul said coolly. I turned the doorknob and, what do ya know, a balcony.

"Look, you were right." I said sarcastically.

"Eight more minutes, Red." Soul said. I shrugged my shoulders again and leaned against the wall.

"I can chill here for six minutes." I said as I pretended to inspect my nails.

"Yeah, nice view." Soul told me as he looked out over Death City. I nodded my head in agreement. All of a sudden I was next to him, looking out over the horizon. Soul sighed and looked at me.

"What?" I asked him.

"Maka told me about your family."

Oh my god. I'm gonna kill her. "What the hell? I told her not to tell anybody!" I shouted. I paced around the balcony.

"You're not supposed to keep secrets from your partner." Soul told me like it was no big deal.

"Mine did, and I'm fine. I'm not traumatized." I snapped. He looked shocked. One minute I was actually being nice and talking, the next it's like I'm that mean of a person I've always been towards people. I continued pacing, an evil look on my face. Soul grabbed my shoulders.

"Hey, Red, calm down. It's fine. I'm not gonna tell anybody and I'm not gonna baby you or anything." Soul told me calmly. He looked me right in the eye when he said it. I smiled at him, reassured that he wasn't like everybody else. I check my cell phone.

"Oh, crap! We gotta get to class!" I shouted. We ran through the building until we came to the hall with Class Crescent Moon. We got there just as the last few people were entering the room. Stein noticed us coming in a little late, but said nothing. We took our seats and acted like nothing happened.

"Where were you?" Kid asked.

"Exploring the school." I told him, my eyes on the chalkboard. Stein had written DISSECTION in big letters in the middle of it. I raised my hand.

"Yes, Angel?" Stein asked me.

"Didn't we study this yesterday?"

"Mhmm."

I looked at Kid, puzzled. "He's obsessed with dissection." he explained. I nodded my head. It was weird, but I left it alone.

School was over and I met up with Maka and Soul at the balcony I was at earlier. "Hey Red." Soul said. I was kind of happy with my nickname. I waved at him and pointed at Maka.

"I understand Soul is your partner, but when I said nobody, I meant nobody, not even him." I told her. I wasn't mad anymore, just a bit upset.

"I know, but it was bugging me."

"Whatever. You guys ready to go?" I asked them. Maka nodded her head and Soul led us to the front of the school.

"It's not a far walk, so let's get going." Soul told me.

We arrived at their apartment in a few minutes. We walked through the door and I sat on the couch. "You guys have a cat?" I asked when I saw a black cat walk into the room.

"That's Blair, she's not exactly our cat." Maka said gloomily. I could tell she didn't like Blair. All of a sudden, the cat became a human. My eyes got wide.

"Hi! Are you Soul's girlfriend or something?" she asked me. Soul chuckled.

"Why would I ever date her?!" he asked between laughs. I narrowed my eyes at him and kicked him where it counted. Soul stopped laughing and fell over. I smiled in satisfaction.

"Oh. I see, it's that kind of a relationship." Blair said, smiling.

"NO, YOU IDIOT! SOUL IS NOT MY BOYFRIEND!" I yelled at her.

"Sure he is. You don't need to be ashamed about dating him." She continued.

"Makaaaaa… CHOP!" Maka said as she slammed a book into Blair's skull. I smiled and thanked her. Maka smiled back with her genuine smile. Soul recovered and stood back up.

I crossed my arms and stared at him. "What's up, Red?" he asked me, as if he didn't know. I rolled my eyes and punch him in the arm.

"Ow! Okay, I guess I deserved that."

I nodded my head, approving the fact that he agreed. "So, you guys wanna hear what happened with my family?" I asked them when Blair left.

"Yes!"

" 'Course, we do, Red."

I took a deep breath, sat back down on the couch, and told them everything.

I finished my last sentence sighed loudly. "That's it." I said. They just sat there, blinking their eyes until Soul said, "Badass, Red."

"Thanks. I mean, I wasn't just gonna sit there and let the bitch beat me to death. I don't know what happened to them exactly when I screamed, but I know that I've never done it again, nor do I plan to. I will if I have to, though." I told them. Maka wasn't saying anything, she was just sitting there, fiddling with the hem of her skirt.

"Maka, are you okay?" I asked her with a concerned look on my face. She snapped her head up and forced a smile.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just thought about how hard it was for you."

I crossed my arms and looked at her. "Please don't. I feel like I'm getting sympathy, I don't want that." I shook my head. Maka told me she understood and went to the kitchen.

"Would you like to stay for dinner?" she asked me as she began cooking.

"Sure, I keep forgetting to get food…" I told her as I nodded my head. I turned my attention back to Soul.

"Hey, can I ask you something?" I asked him, twirling a strand of hair.

"Yeah, sure."

"Not that I care, 'cause trust me I really don't, but why wouldn't you…" I trailed off, not knowing how to say it.

"What, date you?" Soul asked nervously. I nodded my head solemnly.

"Oh, I don't know. Probably because I just met you. I don't really know anything about you besides the fact that you're pretty cool." He told me coolly. I smiled and was sure I blushed. Soul was about to hold my hand when Maka told us dinner was ready. _Thank you, Maka! _I didn't wanna be in much contact with anyone, especially boys.


	5. Giraffes and Symmetry

"Best. Meal. Ever." I told Maka. She laughed as she took my plate and put it in the sink.

"Thanks Angel. Hey, tomorrow's Saturday, you wanna come to the park with us to play basketball?"

"Oh, um… sure, sounds fun. But I'm not that good." I warned them.

"That's okay, you just have to be better than Maka." Soul told me, rather seriously. Maka seemed mad but said nothing.

"Well, I should go before it gets dark. Later." I said and left before they invited me to spend the night.

When I got home, I was exhausted. So, I changed into my red t-shirt and black lounge shorts and went to bed early.

**The Next Day**

I poured some cereal into a bowl and ate slowly, thinking about my plans for the day. First, grocery shopping and then basketball. After that- oh wait, I don't have anything planned after basketball. Oh well. I finished my cereal and dressed in what I was going to where to basketball; a red and black striped halter top, dark-denim capris, my usual black converse, and a crème colored jacket. I tied my hair up in a red bandana like a headband and zipped up my jacket. The right sleeve kept slipping off my shoulder and it wouldn't stay up unless I zipped it up all the way, and it was too hot for that. So finally I gave up and just left it down. I walked down to the grocery store and bought everything necessary. When I got home, I unpacked everything and headed down to the park. Nobody was there yet so I laid down on the bench. I closed my eyes and rested my hands behind my head. I jumped when I heard an all too familiar voice.

"I AM THE GREATEST ASSASIN EVER! YAHOO!"

My eyes flew open, just in time for me to see Black Star pretty much falling from the sky right above me. I rolled off the bench and onto the basketball court. Black Star landed face first on the bench. I winced at the noise of the crash. "Ow," was all he said. I felt bad for him for a moment, and then realized what he was trying to do. I became enraged.

"What the hell, Black Star? Are you trying to kill me?" I shouted as he sat up and rubbed his head.

"Actually I was trying to assassinate you." he told me matter-of-factly. I punched him in the face.

"SAME THING, YOU IDIOT!" I yelled. Tsubaki appeared from a tree near the bench.

"Black Star, you have to stop doing that! I almost landed on a bird's nest!" she screamed, her light green jacket was covered in leaves. I shook my head and helped Tsubaki clean the leaves off her. I sat back down on the bench and rest my chin in my hands. The others arrived soon.

"Took ya guys long enough! Tsubaki and I were stuck listening to 'the greatest assassin ever'." I said, tired of Black Star.

"Eh, Tsubaki's probably used to it by now." Soul told me. I laughed, realizing it was true.

"So, let's play some basketball!" I shouted as I jumped off the bench. They all nodded their heads in agreement.

"Let's pick teams. I vote Angel and Maka as captains." Kid said. I shook my head.

"There is no way in hell that I'm being a captain. Soul can be captain." I told him. He shrugged his shoulders.

"Alright. Maka, you pick first."

Maka smiled brightly. "Kid, you're my co-captain."

"Red, you're co-captain for my team. I will not take 'no' for an answer." Soul told me. I rolled my eyes and stood behind him.

"Our team is gonna lose 'cause of me." I told him and looked away. We continued picking teams with Black Star and Liz on Maka and Kid's team and Patty and Tsubaki on mine and Soul's team.

"Okay, let's go. Patty, you need to go all out and crush Black Star. Tsubaki, take on Liz and Red, you'll go for Kid. I'll take care of Maka." Soul told everyone the plan. We nodded our heads and turned towards the other team, ready to play. I smirked, knowing already how to distract Kid.

"Aaaaand… Begin!" Tsubaki shouted. And so, the game started. The ball started with Kid. He was dribbling the ball and tried to pass it to Maka. I jumped up and caught it. I dribbled it and took the shot for our basket.

"Yes! Point, Soul's team!" Tsubaki said. I don't know how she was able to be the referee and still play the game. Patty now had the ball and Black Star was on her.

"Look, Patty! A giraffe!" he shouted. Patty gasped and turned around, the ball still in her hands.

"Where?!" Patty said excitedly "Wait, there's no giraffe!" she said, suddenly back to reality.

"Ha, ha! You don't fool me!" Patty cackled. She dribbled three times and threw the ball to Soul. In turn, he threw to Tsubaki who threw it at the basket.

"Two points! Woo-hoo!" I said. The ball went to Kid. I blocked him and thought for a moment, before he threw to one of his teammates. I gasped, pretending to be shocked.

"It's so symmetrical!" I said as I pointed at nothing. Kid spun around and left the ball bouncing.

"What is it, where?!"

I giggled as I picked up the ball.

"Soul!" I shouted and passed the ball to him. He turned around and made the shot. We were winning!

"That's cheating!" Black Star yelled at me. I rolled my eyes.

"You did it to Patty." I told him and pointed my thumb towards her.

"That…but…whatever!" Black Star didn't know what to say. Tsubaki called break and I collapsed on the grass next to Kid.

"Hey, sorry about that symmetry trick." I told him as I picked at the grass.

"It's fine. I would do the same if I knew your weak spot." he said jokingly. I let out a small laugh. Soul came over and sat in front of us.

"I thought you said you weren't good." Soul told me. I shook my head.

"I said I wasn't _that_ good. I never said wasn't good at all." I replied as I playfully shoved him.

"Break over!" Tsubaki told us after five minutes. I smiled, ready for round two.


	6. Knowing Someone with Ice Cream

"Bye guys. See ya Monday." I said to everyone as I walked away from the basketball court. Soul came running after me and I turned on my heels.

"Whassup?" I asked him.

"Hey, Maka and I wanna have you over for breakfast tomorrow. Cool with you?" he asked me. I was taken aback by his question. I thought for a moment.

"Um, sure. I'll see you guys tomorrow then." I said and waved goodbye to him.

When I got home, I realized I hadn't written a song in a while. So I grabbed my songbook and a pencil and thought about something new.

_Emotions tucked away_

_In a safe place_

_Until the day_

_My heart bursts_

Sounds good so far.

**Twenty Minutes later**

I tapped my pencil on the paper rapidly. Nothing. I couldn't think of anything else. I had four lines, that's it. I groaned and set my writing utensils down and stepped outside for a moment for some fresh air. As I sat down on the porch step, I thought about all that had happened in the last three days. I had made… four, five, six, seven… seven kind of friends, I had played basketball again for the third time in my life, I made it to the DWMA, I didn't find a partner yet (but, hey, it's only been three days), and had managed not to kill anyone. It was going pretty well.

After ten minutes of air, I went back inside. I decided to give up on songwriting for the day and went to the kitchen for some lunch. Hmmm… a peanut butter and jelly sounds satisfying. I ate my lunch and sat down on my light green couch. As I thought about what I wanted to do for the rest of the day, my feet walked outside and to some random location that was fresh in my mind. "Huh, eh, why not?" I asked myself as I walked up to the door and knocked. I waited for a while and got annoyed. I banged my fist on the door.

"Hey, I know your home! Answer the damn door, Kid!" I shouted. Finally someone answered.

"Hello, Angel. Whassup?"

"I was board and wondered if you guys wanna hang out."

"Oh, sure. Come on in."

I smiled and walked through the door. "Hey, Liz and Patty." I said to the two blonde girls sitting on the couch. Liz waved in my direction, focusing on her nails.

"Hiya, Angel! I just got a new giraffe!" Patty said excitedly as she held up a yellow stuffed animal giraffe. I nodded my head and sat up-side-down on a chair next to the couch.

"I was so bored at home that I thought I was gonna die." I told them sarcastically. I saw Kid smile out of the corner of my eye.

"Yeah, that's nice." Liz told me, zero emotion.

"Ha-ha! You almost died!" Patty cackled. I looked over at Kid and pointed to Liz with my thumb.

"She always like this when she does her nails?" I asked him. He shrugged his shoulders. I smirked and gasped

"Holy crap! Liz there's a ghost standing behind you!" I shouted. Liz dropped her nail-polish, screamed, and sank down to her knees and whimpered. I got a good laugh out of it, and so did Patty and Kid.

"Angel! That's not funny! That was the last of my pink nail-polish!" Liz yelled at me. My laughing slowed down as I apologized. I looked down at the rug where she dropped the nail-polish. There was hot-pink liquid running out of the bottle, creating pink pool for someone to clean up.

"Hey, I'll clean up the mess and buy you some new nail-polish. Sound good?" I told Liz. She smiled at me and nodded her head.

"Kid, where do you keep you cleaning supplies and what-not?" I asked him.

"In the closet." he told me. I looked around the room and saw so many doors.

"Um, which closet?"

Kid let out a small laugh and led me upstairs to a door. I opened the door and saw a bunch of cleaning supplies. I walked in and tripped over my own feet, bringing Kid down with me. "Sorry…" I said as I rubbed my head. I opened my eyes and realized I was sitting on Kid, my face inches away from his. I gasped and flung myself off of him. As I glanced back at Kid, I realized he was smiling. Wait, smiling?

"It's okay." Kid told me. I stood up and extended my hand to help him up. I sighed and grabbed the necessary supplies to clean up Liz's spilt nail-polished and faced Kid.

"Once again, never speak of it. Ever." I told him. He smirked deviously.

"Fine." was all Kid said. We went back downstairs and I cleaned up the pool of pink off the rug.

"So, what's next to do?" I asked them.

"Well, we could go shopping." Liz suggested.

"No! I do not go shopping for fun, only if needed." I told them.

"We could go to the zoo!" Patty said excitedly.

"The zoo isn't open until tomorrow." Kid explained. I sighed and thought for a moment.

"A walk?" I asked half-heartedly.

"Sounds good to me." Kid said.

"Nah, I gotta re-paint my nails again." Liz said as she glared at me.

"Yet you wanted to go shopping." I retorted.

"Yeah, 'cause shopping is fun. Walking is boring."

I rolled my eyes. "Patty, you coming?"

"Nope, I have to groom my giraffe." Patty told me as she held up a brush and the new stuffed-animal she showed me earlier.

"Well, just you and me then, Angel." Kid said and smiled at me. I sighed as we walked out the door. We walked down the street a little before Kid stopped.

"What, did you see something asymmetrical?" I asked him, only half-joking.

"No."

"Then what?"

"Why are you being so quiet?"

"I dunno. There's nothing to talk about."

"There's plenty to talk about."

Kid started walking again and I followed. "Like what?"

"How we'll find you a partner an-"

"Wait, 'we'?" I asked him. How was _he_ supposed to find me a partner?

"Well, as son of Lord Death himself, I should be obligated to help you find you your partner."

I rolled my eyes. "The fact that you're the son of Lord Death doesn't impress me."

"I don't need to impress you."

Kid smirked and I punched his arm lightly. "Okay, so what if I don't wanna talk about finding a partner?"

"Then we can talk about you."

"Me?"

"Yes. I would like to know more about you, Angel."

I looked around and realized we were back at the park. I stopped and pulled myself up onto a branch at the nearest tree. "First of all, I love climbing trees." I called down to Kid as I settled myself on a sturdy branch. He climbed up after me.

"So I see." Kid said as he struggled to get a foothold on the branch under him. I giggled and swung my legs back and forth.

"As you know, I'm not the nicest person."

"Of course I know." Kid said with a laugh when he reached my branch. He sat down next to me.

"But, I _can_ be nice, like right now. And I don't open up to others easily."I paused and looked down.

"You've opened up to me and my friends." Kid said. It caught my attention a little. I shook my head.

"Not really. Just you and Soul. I trust you two. I bond more easily with guys than girls. Probably because I'm not girly."

There was a silence between us and I stopped swinging my legs. I looked up at Kid, he was staring at me. "I don't like being stared at either." I deadpanned. He blushed and looked away. I touched his shoulder.

"What about you?"

"What _about_ me?" Kid asked as he looked back at me.

"Well I told you a little about me, now it's your turn."

He glanced up at the sky. "Oh. Well, symmetry is my life."

"So I've noticed."

"Everything has to be symmetrical or I pretty much freak out." Kid told me, a little embarrassed. I looked down at myself and realized; I wasn't symmetrical. At all. My black hair was parted to the side to show my side-bangs on the left, my jacket sleeve still hung low on my right shoulder, and the left cuff of my capris was raised a little higher than the one my right.

"What about me, I'm not symmetrical. I never was. So why didn't you freak out when you first saw-or ever see- me?" I asked him, sort of unhappy with myself.

"That's the thing, there's something about you that's symmetrical. It's not your soul, 'cause it's not symmetrical at all."

"What does my soul look like?"

"Can't you see souls?"

"Well, yes but I've never really seen my own soul."

"I'll draw you a picture later." Kid smiled at me again. I smiled back.

We talked for a little longer, then went downtown for a little ice cream. And as I ate my bowl of strawberry ice cream across from Kid, I realized something. For the first time in years, I was opening my heart to someone, some people; Kid and Soul.


	7. Trusting

"So, uh, you wanna hang out again tomorrow?" Kid asked me. I rolled my eyes.

"Kid, I'll hang out with you if you stop the whole 'I'm-shy-and-that-makes-me-cute' thing. It's kinda stupid." I told him. To be honest, it actually made him a little cute, but that wasn't going to make me melt. Wait, what am I saying? _Nothing_ was going to make me melt, I don't fall for people.

"Okay, later Angel."

"Later."

I turned away from him and headed out the door. I checked the time on my cell. _Seven thirty already? Better get home and eat dinner…_

I arrived home soon and decided to make pizza from scratch. By the time it was done, it was past 9:00. I ate two slices of pizza and put the rest in the fridge. As I changed into my pajamas, I set my alarm clock so I wouldn't be late for breakfast at Soul and Maka's. I sighed and slid under the covers in my bed. I just stared at the ceiling until my eyes got heavy and I fell asleep.

**The Next Day**

I smacked the dismiss button on my alarm clock and groaned, wishing I had settled on lunch instead of breakfast. But, I sucked it up and got ready. And as I finished pulling on my thigh-highs, I realized that for some reason I was nervous about going over to Maka and Soul's. I ignored it and shoved my phone into my shorts pocket. When I walked out the door, I realized the walk to Soul and Maka's was going to be incredibly long. So I went to my garage and rummaged through a bunch of junk until I found what I was looking for.

"Yes, I found ya!" I said to myself as I pulled out my red electric scooter. I made sure it still worked and sped off to Maka and Soul's. When I arrived, I parked my scooter in a small alleyway between the apartment and another building. I knocked on the door and a very perky Blair answered.

"Hi, Angel! Come on in." Blair told me. "Soul told me his girlfriend was coming over!" she added as I walked through the doorway. I froze. As I thought about what to do, I yanked on Blair's hair.

"I'M NOT SOUL'S GIRLFRIEND! IF HE SAID I WAS THEN HE NEEDS TO GET HIS HEAD SCREWED ON STRAIGHT!" I yelled and let go of Blair's purple locks.

"Now, where _is_ Soul?" I asked in the most polite voice I could manage. As Blair sunk to her knees, she pointed to a door across the room. I smiled sweetly and walked over to the door. Without even thinking, at all, I threw the door open.

"Soul! Blair ju-" I stopped mid-sentence. There, in the middle of the room stood Soul, no shirt on what so ever. I felt my cheeks go from like ten degrees to five hundred. A long scar ran down the front of him, starting at his left shoulder and ending at his right hip.

"I, um, I just-just, uh…" I couldn't find the words. I turned my head away.

"Are you okay, Red?" Soul asked me. I nodded my head.

"Yeah. B-Blair just told me you said I was your girlfriend. And I'm not." I told him, finally coming to my senses. Soul sighed as he pulled on his orange t-shirt.

"Stupid Blair… Look, I never said you were my girlfriend. Blair just mixes words up, okay?" he replied as he walked over to me. I nodded and Soul realized how red my face was, another reason to call me Red. He smiled at me.

"Hey, it's fine. You cool?" he said. I smiled back.

"Yeah, I'm cool. You?"

Soul scoffed. "Please, I'm always cool."

I giggled and Soul touched my shoulder gently. "I_ will_ take care of Blair." he reassured me. This made me laugh.

"I already did." I told him as I gestured to Blair, who was still in shock. Soul stared at her for a minute then burst out laughing. Maka came out of her room and smiled at me.

"Hey, Angel. When did you get here?" she asked me.

"About two minutes ago."

"Great, well you got here a bit early so give me like a half hour tops to make us breakfast."

"Alright. I'm not really hungry yet anyways."

Lie. I was starving. Maka gave me a puzzled look. "What happened to Blair?"

I smiled deviously. "She said I was Soul's girlfriend again so I beat her butt."

Maka giggled. "Good, she needed that."

She went to the kitchen and started on whatever she had planned for us. Blair stood back up, a little shaky. "I'm gonna go to work now." she told us, as she fumbled around with the doorknob. "Bye guys. Goodbye, uh, Angel."

I could tell she hated me now, and I didn't care, because I hated her too. The second she walked out the door, we all began laughing.

"Well, that was comedy gold." Soul said between short laughs. I let out a short breath and plopped down on the couch next to Soul.

"That was actually a good way for me to get my anger out. Can't believe I'm saying this, but now I want her to call me your girlfriend more so I can do that again." I told Soul, and made him blush.

"Yea-yeah right, Red. You hate me."

"Soul, if I hated you, would I be here right now?"

Soul and Maka chuckled. "So, Chef Maka, what do you have planned for us?"

"Nothing big. Just eggs, bacon, ham, and pancakes."

"Are you kidding? That's big to me! I usually only have eggs, sometimes bacon!" I shouted. Maka giggled and held up a plate.

"Foods done."

I ran over to the table and didn't wait for Soul and Maka, I just ate.

After breakfast, I invited them to hang out with me and Kid. We walked outside and I realized, "Oh, crap. I forgot, I brought my electric scooter…"

"It's okay, I'll meet you there. I feel like I should clean up the place a little." Maka said. Soul and I both felt bad about ditching her, but she insisted we go several more times.

"Maka, Red and I will take the motorcycle and you can take her scooter when you're ready to leave." Soul suggested to both of us at the same time. So we settled on that. I climbed on the motorcycle behind Soul. I guess he sensed I was a little nervous, this being my first time even near one.

"Nervous?"

"Kinda."

Soul smirked. "Just hold on tight, Red. If we crash for any reason, I'll make sure I'm more injured than you."

I smiled a little and wrapped my arms around Soul's waist. It was little reasons like that why I trusted Soul.


	8. Something Less Emo

"Hey, Angel. I see you brought Soul." Kid said as he greeted us at the door.

"Yep, and Maka should be here sometime soon." I told him. We went inside and made ourselves comfortable.

"Where are Liz and Patty?" Soul asked Kid.

"Shopping."

I sprang up from my seat. "That reminds me," I paused, reached into my pocket, retrieved my wallet, and gave Kid some money, "give this to Liz for her nail-polish."

Kid nodded his head and took it. I could tell Soul was confused, but he said nothing. I sat back down and stared at the clock, but paid no mind to the time. All of a sudden, something in my brain clicked.

"Kid!" I shouted. The sudden noise made both of them jump.

"What, what?" kid asked, somewhat panicked.

"I had a dream last night. We were all in class and Stein was droning on and on about dissection as usual. And then, there was a knock at the door. I didn't seem to care who it was until Stein said my name. I looked up and there was some random girl coming up towards us. She had midnight-purple hair and electric blue eyes and she sat down next to me. She tapped my shoulder and said, 'Hi, my name is Sil,' I couldn't hear anything after that, but I know there was more to her name. I nodded my head at her. She and I kept talking but I couldn't hear anything again, not even from Stein. There was this buzzing noise and I woke up." I told him.

"So?" Kid asked me, wanting a point for my sudden outburst. I sighed.

"So, I was wondering if you knew of any student with a name beginning with 'Sil', because I think she's real. And that I'm supposed to know her, that she may be my partner. Call me crazy but, I have this funny feeling about it."

"Well, no. But there is a new student coming to the school next week named Silara. That might be her."

"So, you believe me?"

"Yes, I do."

I smiled. "Soul, I might have a partner!" I said excitedly. He smiled back at me.

"That's awesome, Red." Soul said and slapped me a high-five. Just then, Maka ran through the door.

"Sorry, I'm late." Maka told us guiltily. I smiled and told her it was no big deal. A smile still lingered on my face.

"Why are you so happy?" Maka asked me.

"I _think_ I may have found my partner…"

"Great! Well, what's their name?"

"Oh, trust me, Maka, I know damn well that you don't know her."

"Okay, well, I can't wait to meet her."

I sighed quietly. What if she wasn't supposed to be my partner? What then? I decided to just put the thought out of reach for a while. After a long time of nothing, I stood up.

"I'm incredibly bored. Let's do something fun." I said.

"Like what?" Kid asked me, an eyebrow raised.

"I dunno. Any suggestions?" I said, looking to everyone. Maka's eyes brightened a little.

"We could write poems." she suggested hopefully. Soul laughed for some reason.

"What, are you emo?" he asked jokingly. I punched him and out of the corner of my eye, I saw Kid smile slightly.

"If writing poems is emo then consider me the most emo person in the world." I told him bitterly. It's true though. I write poems a lot, especially when something's bothering me. I literally have a bunch of boxes full of old poems. Soul rolled his eyes and rubbed his arm. Maka smiled at me.

"Maka and I can go write some poems and you guys can do something less emo." I told the boys as Maka and I walked out of the room. We found some paper and pencils and walked into a random room. The room was painted red and had a small table on each side of the room. In the middle of the room was a black rug with Lord Death's mask printed on it. Seemed like a nice place for us to write some poetry. We each sat down at a table and wrote.

After I used up all but one of my papers I stopped. I looked over and Maka was finishing her last line on her last paper. She looked up to me and smiled again.

"This is fun, Angel." she told me. I smiled back.

"It is…" I replied. Maka moved her chair next to me.

"So, do you like the academy so far?"

"Yeah, it's nice." I smiled at the thought of the room I found the other day.

"What do you think of everyone?" she asked me thoughtfully. My smiled faded. I didn't really know what to say.

"Black Star… he's really annoying, so I'm not his biggest fan, he's already filled that position himself," I smiled again and Maka laughed "Tsubaki is super nice. In all honesty, a bit too nice. But, she's a good friend. Liz, she's… well, I don't really know about her yet. Her sister, Patty, is hilarious. Definitely not the smartest person, but nice." I paused, realizing who all was left; Kid, Soul, and the person sitting next to me, Maka.

"Kid, well, he's nice…" I trailed off, not knowing what more to say about him.

"Soul, uh, he's, um… cool…"

Maka smiled again. "Do you like Soul, Angel?"

I was very surprised. Why would she think that? "No! Definitely not!" I told her. Her smile widened.

"Well, you know how Blair always says you're his girlfriend?" she asked me secretively. I rolled my eyes at the thought.

"Yeah, and?"

"Well, I know something about why Blair _still_ says that."

I was almost scared to hear what it was, but I asked anyway.

"Because, Soul always talks about you."

My face reddened a bit. "He does not, Maka."

"He does. He says-" she was cut off by, none other than, Soul himself.

"What are you girls doing?" he asked suspiciously. I blushed.

"Nothing." I said quickly and left the room, leaving my poems behind.


	9. I Can Tell You're Lying

As I quietly crept through the front door, I thought about why I was leaving. Just as I shut the door, Kid called my name. I ignored him and walked my electric scooter down the street, but he came after me.

"Why are you leaving? Is something wrong?"

I shook my head. "No, nothing is wrong. I just feel like I should I go home. I have some… things to do." I told him. Total lie. I really just wanted to go home and relax.

"Oh, okay." Kid said kindly. I smiled and walked away.

"By the way, Angel, I could tell that you're lying." he called to me. I stopped in my tracks and turned around slowly.

"Yes, I _was_ lying. See ya, Kid." I told him and just left.

When I got home, I thought about what Maka said. Did Soul really talk about me? Then I looked into my heart, wondering if I actually liked him. _No, I don't like Soul. I can't, I don't really like anybody…_

I sighed loudly and pulled out my computer. I figured I could do some recording for a few songs.

_Soul's POV_

Maka left the room, a little upset with me for interrupting their poem writing. I rolled my eyes and sat down at the table Angel was just at. I knew it was wrong, but I looked through her poems. One caught my eye. It was entitled _The Ones I Trust_. I barely read over it, only catching a few words. _Trust, only, see, my heart, Death, Soul, -_ Soul? I went back to the beginning.

_I trust very few_

_Right now, only two_

_They see me for me_

_And nothing more_

_But there's a tugging at my heart_

_Yet there has been since the start_

_I trust a Kid who's name is Death_

_And someone cool with a particular Soul_

_I trust very few_

_Only two_

_They're the ones that see me for me_

I looked around the room and nobody was there, so I folded the paper and stuffed it in my pocket. I didn't quite understand the poem and decided to take it home to think about it more later. As I walked back downstairs, I realized Angel wasn't there.

"Where'd Red go?" I asked Kid.

"She said she had to go home." Kid told me. I nodded my head sat down on the couch.

"Soul, we should probably go, too." Maka said. I groaned.

"But I just sat down."

"Soul. Now."

I groaned again and stood up. "Later, Kid." I said as I walked out the door. As I sat on the motorcycle waiting for Maka to get her emo poems and say goodbye to Kid, I heard a faint whistling. I looked up and saw a blackbird with red stripes down the middle of both wings and a red tipped tail. I recognized it as the Maynelia bird. I listened closer and realized there was a song in the whistling. It was a beautiful sound. For some reason, I thought of Angel.

"Sorry, Soul. I got everything, now. Let's go." Maka said to me as she climbed on behind me. I revved the engine and we sped down the street, on our way home.

_Angel's POV_

"…I'll point you to the mirror." I finished the last line of my song and the music faded out. I exhaled slowly and smiled, happy with what I accomplished for the day. I looked up at the clock on the wall and saw it was already one-thirty. I decided to go out for lunch. As I grabbed my phone and walked out the door, I plugged my ear buds into my ears and played some music. I was so deep in my music that I realized I was already downtown. Now that I knew where I wanted to go, I took a shortcut through a small alleyway. At the other end was a group of older guys, they looked like they were in their late twenties. They stared at me, but I just kept walking. There were empty beer bottles all over the ground and I could tell they were drunk.

"Hey, girly." one called out to me. They were definitely blind if they thought I was girly. A few of them walked toward me. The guy who called me girly touched my shoulder.

"Don't touch me." I deadpanned and slapped his hand away. The others made sound of shock.

"Aw, girly, don't be like that. I'm Narook. And you are?" replied the same guy.

"Somebody you don't wanna mess with."

"Oh, yeah? How about you come with us for a drink?" Narook asked. I rolled my eyes.

"I'm fourteen. And you're already drunk, Scumbag." I said coldly to Narook. His eyes went wide and grabbed my arm. In the distance I could hear an engine. There were no other cars around except that one and I knew they weren't going to be any help. I jerked my arm free and unwrapped my ear buds from my neck.

"Come here!" Narook shouted at me. I backed away slowly and began twirling the ear buds around like a weapon. He lunged at me and I whipped him hard in the face. The other guys looked angry when Narook cried out in pain. They rushed towards me, but I punched them, kicked them, and whipped my ear buds around. There were few left, but they were stupid and tried to get me anyway. The engine got closer until it seemed like it was just around the corner. It stopped and I heard footsteps.

"Red?" a familiar voice said. I paid no attention and continued beating the drunks' butts. A few that were down got back up and I realized I needed help. I turned around to see Soul standing there, wide-eyed. It came to my attention that the engine came from his motorcycle and that he just saw me beat up four guys on my own.

"Soul!" I shouted and ran to him.

"I could use a little help!" I told him nervously. He flashed a sharp-toothed smile at me.

"No problem." He said. He stuck out his right arm and it turned into a black and red blade. I smirked and ran at the rest of the guys. I gave them really bad whiplashes and Soul pretty much killed the others. I smiled big and before I knew what I was doing, I hugged Soul tightly.

"Thank you so much!" I shouted as he wrapped his arms around my back.

"Any time, Red." he said sweetly. I released my grip and dusted off my shirt. Then I thought of something.

"Soul, how did you know I was here?" I questioned him. It did seem a bit odd that he showed up out of the blue for no apparent reason. And without Maka, too.

"I didn't. I was actually on my way to your house and heard something like a fight going on. That's when I saw you."

"Why were you coming to my house?"

"You forgot you poems."

Soul reached into his pocket and pulled out a handful of paper. I took them cautiously and gently put them in my back pocket. I wondered how he found out where I lived but didn't ask him.

"So, where ya headed?" Soul asked me.

"Just out to lunch." I replied as I shrugged my shoulders.

"Mind if I join you?"

"Oh. Um, no, but where's Maka?"

"Home, cleaning again."

"Okay, then."

"Shall we?"

Soul smiled and gestured to his motorcycle. I smiled back and we ran around the corner. I wasn't scared about riding the motorcycle this time. But, I was a little scared that I actually _was_ falling for Soul.


	10. I'm Alive

"Um, thanks… I'll see you tomorrow." I said to Soul as I climbed off his motorcycle.

"See ya, Red." Soul said as he waved goodbye and sped down the street. I sighed as I unlocked the front door and walked inside. _Four o'clock already? Wow…_ I thought when I checked the time. There was a pounding in my head, so I laid down on the couch and covered up with a thick blanket. Out of nowhere, a song came to mind. I hadn't written it or heard before. It was just… there. I sprang up off the couch, grabbed my songbook and pencil and wrote the lyrics down before I forgot. Headache or not, I couldn't forget this. It was amazing. I just hoped it didn't belong to anybody…

When the song finished running through my head and I finished writing it down, I laid back down. Another song ran through my head, but it was one I already wrote. It was an old lullaby. With the soft tone stuck in my head, I soon fell asleep.

**Hours Upon Hours Upon Hours Later**

Pink and orange tints of light poured in through the blinds and my eyes fluttered open. I realized it was sunset and that I wasn't going to sleep tonight. I checked the time on my phone. It read six-thirty a.m. Then it dawned on me that it wasn't sun_set_ it was sun_rise_. I laughed at my own mistake and got up off the couch. As I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes, I wound my way upstairs to my bedroom. I looked in the mirror absent mindedly. _I could update my wardrobe a bit… _I thought to myself. I turned to my closet and dresser. There wasn't much else I had for clothes. I found a pair of skinny-jeans and a red tank-top with thick straps and traded in my old outfit for that one.

_I feel like it's missing something… A-ha! _I suddenly saw a black quarter-sleeve t-shirt hanging in my closet. I smiled as I slipped it over my head. I realized my shoulders showed, so you could see my tank-top. I was happy with my new outfit, but I wanted to do something with my hair too. I dug through my very little collection of hair accessories and found a thick red headband. I place it neatly on my head, leaving my bangs in my face. My bangs weren't really bothersome, at times they would cover my left eye, but it was no big deal. I stuck with my regular black converse though; I guess it was kind of like my "signature thing". I stole a quick glance in the mirror and thought it looked alright. I ate a quick breakfast containing eggs and bacon and walked out the door on my way school.

**At School**

I quickly looked up and down the hallway and placed the key into the key-hole. The door unlocked with a click and I slipped inside, unseen. I smiled and set up my recording junk. When I was done, I erased my name from the abandoned chalkboard and wrote in neat letters, _ANGEL'S RECORDING STUDIO_. I put all the chords together on my laptop, placed the headphones around my neck, twisted the little microphone built into the headphones so it was just over my mouth, and played the music.

_Soul's POV_

I wandered down the hallway aimlessly and heard something. Music? But nobody plays music in the academy. I ran quickly so I wouldn't miss it. The music got louder and louder with each step. Finally, I found the source: an old classroom that hadn't been used in years. I got down on my knees and crawled to the edge of the door. Someone was singing, and it was amazing. The door was left open a crack, so I peered my head in. I saw a girl with black hair with a headphone and microphone set on her neck walking around in between the desks. The music was coming from her laptop. For a moment I thought it was Angel, and then realized she had different clothes.

"I'm so sick of wasting time. But nothing's moving in my mind." the girl sang. "Inspiration can't be found. I get up and fall but…

The next line stood out from the rest I had heard before. "I'm alive! I'm alive! Oh yeah! Between the good and bad's where you'll find me reaching for heaven! I will fight! And I'll sleep when I die. I live. My life. I'm alive!" All of a sudden, the girl whipped around as she started the next line. It _was _Angel. I should've known, considering the chalkboard read _ANGEL'S RECORDING STUDIO_. I sat there like that on my knees until the music faded out. Then I realized she was shutting everything down, which meant she was leaving. I stood up quickly and ran down the hall until I thought it was safe to walk again.

"Soul! Wait up!" I heard Angel shout to me. I turned around and saw her running towards me. She smiled lightly when she caught up.

"New clothes, Red?" I asked her. She blushed and nodded quickly.

"Yeah, I felt it was time for a change."

"You look cool." I told her. Her blush deepened, which in turned made me blush a little.

"Hey, what were you doing down here?" she suddenly asked me.

"Well, um, I… Uh, I was doing more exploring." I stuttered. It was partly true.

"Oh, I see…"

We walked in silence the rest of the way to class. Before entering the door, Angel pulled me aside.

"Hey, meet up at the balcony after school." Angel said and walked into class, acting like nothing happened. I shrugged my shoulders and followed suit.

_Angel's POV_

The bell shrieked, signaling the end of school.

"Class dismissed." Stein said boredly. I collected my junk and walked out the door. I didn't go home, I went down the hall, past my recording studio, and stopped in front of a familiar door. I smiled and opened it. I walked over to the edge of the balcony and leaned against it. As I waited for Soul, I played my new song through my head.

"Hey, Red." I jumped at the sound of Soul's voice. I turned and saw him lingering in the doorway. I smiled and gestured him over with a wave of my hand. He smiled back with his famous sharp-toothed grin.

"Hey, Soul."

"So what do ya wanna do?"

I sighed remembering all of a sudden that we were just here to hang out. I sat down in the middle of the balcony's stone ground and crossed my legs. Soul sat next to me.

"Red? You alright?" he asked gently as he placed a hand on my shoulder. I nodded my head. Soul moved his hand from my shoulder to my own hand. I gulped, not wanting him to hold my hand or anything of the sort. I guess he understood, because he gasped a little and let go. He shifted uncomfortably. After a minute, Soul chuckled a little. I looked up at him.

"What?" I asked, a little too defensively.

"I just remembered something." He told me secretively.

"And what would that be?"

Soul smiled at me. I was beginning to grow on his smile…

"You remind of an unusual blackbird called the Maynelia. The Maynelia has a red stripe down the middle of both wings and a red tipped tail. Maynelias always fly alone, never in a group. Their songs are the most beautiful of all other birds. They are said to be very mysterious and sometimes vicious unless you tame them. It's rare when someone does. Maynelias are… really cool. Just like you, Red."

I just stared at him. I wasn't sure what to say. Soul had just compared me to a bird. Possibly the awesomest bird I'd ever heard of, too. I blinked a few times before answering.

"Thanks…" I told him as I blushed. He smiled again and I smiled back at him. I noticed my heart thumping loudly and my hand tingling, suddenly longing for Soul to hold my hand. As if he read my mind, Soul took my hand in his.

**A/N**

**Hey! Sorry I haven't been on much. I was grounded… Anyway, yes, the song above is I'm Alive! by BECCA. And yes I watch Black Butler. I'm currently in the process of writing a fanfic for that too.**

**Hugs and Love,**

**~Marysa Way**


	11. Dissecting Frogs, Not Zebras Weird

I groaned as I realized I had to get up for school. I quickly dressed and at a quick breakfast. I was going to be late if I didn't hurry my ass up. So, instead of walking, I ran. And I was lucky, because the bell rang literally just as I walked in the door. I sighed of relief and took my seat next to Kid. Stein rolled into the classroom on his swivel chair and moved up to his desk.

"Good morning class. Today," he paused and began to turn the screw in his head. "We will be dissecting frogs."

I was taken aback by this. Stein was the kind of person who would have us dissect a zebra, not frogs. But whatever, I was way more capable of frogs than zebras.

"But," he started. Oh no, there was a 'but'… "Anybody who thinks they can't handle it, talk amongst others who can't either."

Oh. Okay. Well, to get out of doing work, I pretended I might throw up if I even _touched_ a dead frog. Kid wouldn't do it because there was no way to make it symmetrical, and Liz, well, she was Liz. So with pretty much everyone else dissecting slimy little reptiles, we were just talked about random things, such as ice-cream, Kishin hunting, and, of course, symmetry. I lost interest after a little and started drawing in my notebook. They were just little things, but they were pretty good. I made a portrait of myself and other stupid things. I looked up for a moment and noticed a few people were staring at me. Of course, this angered me. So the niceness that was flowing out of me for the past few days was gone for a moment.

"What? Am I all of a sudden a genetically enhanced Avian (human with bird wings that can fly)?!" I snapped at them. They all looked away and I smiled in satisfaction. I went back to drawing, hoping nobody would look at me again. There was a gentle knock at the door. I figured it was just Lord Death or another teacher.

"Um, are you Angel?" a soft voice asked. I nodded my head.

"Can I help you with something?" I replied without looking up once.

"No, Professor Stein told me to sit here." she replied. I froze and my pencil fell out of my hand. A memory flooded back to me and I slowly lifted my head up. Behind me stood a girl about two inches shorter than me. She had midnight purple hair wrapped up in a ponytail and electric blue eyes. She wore a lime-green t-shirt with a slanting golden chain belt over it, a teal mini-skirt, and black knee-high boots with gold buckles on the ankle.

"O-okay. Here…" I said, barely audible. So my dream _was_ real! I scooted over closer to Kid and she sat down between me and Tsubaki. I pretended to ignore her and kept drawing, but I stole a glance from her here and there. Finally, after twenty minutes, she spoke again.

"I'm Silara. And I'm also a weapon." she said cheerfully. My heart leapt into my throat with happiness. And with fear.

"Where's your meister?" I asked, pretending to not care all that much.

"Don't have one. Are you a weapon?"

"No, meister."

"Well, where's _your _weapon?"

"Don't have one…"

I saw her smile out of the corner of my eye. Stein came up and handed Silara a dead frog and some dissection tools. She thanked him with a weak smile and swallowed nervously. I sighed and dropped my pencil onto my notebook.

"Gimme that." I told her as I switched around my notebook and her dissection tray.

"Oh, no, Angel. You don't have to do that, I can dissect it myself…" Silara told me shakily. I gave her a look that said I didn't believe her and she nodded her head, confirming that she couldn't stomach it, whereas I just didn't do it because I didn't want to. I took a deep breath and began to cut the frog open.

A little after I finished ripping the poor frog apart, Silara spoke again.

"Your drawings are really good."

"Um, thanks…"

There was an awkward silence between us. "Angel and Silara. See me after class." Stein told us. I jumped at the sudden notice of our names, so did Silara. She nodded nervously and I just shrugged my shoulders.

**After Class**

"So, whassup, Stein?" I asked casually as I perched myself on the edge of his desk. Silara pulled me down and I rolled my eyes. If she was going to be pushy to me and we barely know one another, then she would probably be twice as pushy as my partner. _Speaking of which…_ I thought to myself as I took a peek at her soul. It was bright purple and had a ponytail matching her hair, like Tsubaki. Her soul was nervous but had a smile on, anyway. I smirked and turned my attention back to Stein, who wasn't speaking because he noticed I had been looking at Silara's soul.

"The reason I called you two here-" he began, but I interrupted him

"Stein, you didn't 'call us here', you're just keeping us after class."

He scowled at me as he puffed out some smoke from his cigarette. "Anyway, you're here because I believe something could work out between you two."

I rolled my eyes again. It sounded like he was trying to set us up for a date.

"Wh-what do you mean?" Silara asked him. Stein smiled deviously.

"I mean, you both are partnerless. Silara, you never had a partner, and Angel. You left your partner." he pointed out, as if it weren't obvious. Silara turned to me, ready to ask why I left Atami. I held my hand up to stop her.

"Do _not_ ask." I said, before she could get out a single word. She nodded her head silently.

"So, you, um, want us to be… partners?" Silara asked him hopefully. Stein turned the screw in his head again.

"Exactly. I have set up a special class for Weapons' Training. I want you girls to attend." he replied.

"Weapons' Training? Stein, we are _not _little kids." I protested.

"Lemme rephrase that. You _will _attend."

I sighed loudly. "Fine…"

"Good. Silara, you're dismissed. Angel I wanna talk to you more." Stein said. Silara nodded her head and pretty much ran out of the classroom. When she was completely gone, I sat back up on his desk. Stein wheeled his chair around to the front so he could face me better.

"Angel, I know you dissected Silara's frog for her." he deadpanned.

"And your point is…"

"My point is, you would never do that. You're not the nicest person."

I rolled my eyes. "This isn't any news to me, Stein."

"I know. But why? I saw you looking at her soul."

"I can read souls. Big deal."

"But _why,_ Angel? Why did you do something nice for her?"

I let out an exasperated breath. "I had a dream last week. Silara was there… I had a feeling she was supposed to be my partner. I was nice to her because I didn't want her to hate me and not even give me a chance. I didn't want to be forced to be my partner like Atami. She could've ended up just like her. A liar…"


	12. Weapons' Training

"This is not going to be fun." I said to Silara as we walked down the hall.

"Oh, I dunno. It might be…" she replied back.

"I don't think so. Weapons' Training is supposed to be for little kids. We're going to be the only ones our age."

"Yeah, probably. Hey, what class is it in?"

I checked the scrap of paper Stein had given me a few days ago. "Um… Room 201."

We both glanced at the numbers above the doors. "That's Room 213. I think we passed it." Silara said. I stopped and walked backwards until I found Room 201. I let out a long, exasperated breath as we walked through the door. We both stared dumbly at what we saw. A group of kids our age, sitting around on the floor waiting for Stein. Silara and I sat in the back, away from everyone else. After a few minutes of complete and utter silence, we heard squeaky wheels in the hallway and knew Stein was here. He rolled into the classroom slowly and stopped right before he ran into the teacher's desk. Stein scanned the room and found me and Silara. He gave us a look that said 'I told you so' but I ignored him.

"Hello class. Let's begin, shall we?" he asked. There was a bunch of noise from the others, who seemed to be very excited about this. I rolled my eyes and went down with the rest of the kids, Silara following behind me. Looking closer at the faces, I recognized a few kids from class. There was a girl whose name I remember to be Cupid Aijou, she was a battle-ax and her blade was shaped like a heart (not a surprise considering her last name meant 'love' in Japanese) and her partner, Kanari. Cupid and Kanari both had pink hair; Kanari's hair was more of a fuchsia color, whereas Cupid's was fluorescent-pink. They looked like they could've been sisters, despite the fact that Cupid was paler and has magenta eyes, Kanari having blue eyes. She reminded me of cotton candy. She wore a white blouse with blue buttons and cuffs, a matching blue cheerleader-style skirt, and pink flats. Cupid was wearing a purple baseball cap, a red tank-top that matched the heart on her hat, green camouflage capris, and purple sneakers. I decided to sit next Cupid and Kanari. Stein clapped his hands to get our attention.

"Okay, as you all know, this is Weapons' Training. Most of you aren't really familiar with actually fighting with your partner, which is why you're here." Stein told us. He was right, we _did_ know this. "You may begin training." There was another roar of excitement as everyone but me and Silara stood up and began fighting fake Kishins. We were a little nervous about this, seeing as I've never held her before, let alone the fact that I don't even know what kind of weapon she is.

"Silara, Angel. Why aren't you fighting?" Stein asked us.

"Just a little nervous…" Silara told him. I nodded my head in agreement.

"Well, don't be. Silara, transform. Angel, be ready to catch her." he said, a little harshly. We stood up and there was a small glow coming from Silara as she got smaller until she was in weapon form.

"Katana, nice." I said as I caught Silara in my hands. She appeared in the blade, naked. If I hadn't had a weapon before, this would've weirded me out. A lot.

"Thank you. Everyone in my family from my father's side is a type of sword." Silara told me cheerfully. I saw a corner full of training equipment and went over there, not wanting to fight in front of others. I found out the Kishin dummies actually moved, making it harder to kill them. But it wasn't hard at all for me. I managed to slice up four 'Kishins' in the time it took everyone else to do two.

Soon after my sixth 'kill', Stein called break. I sighed and threw Silara up in the air. She glowed again and got bigger until she was back to human form.

"Great job everyone. You're really making progress." Stein told us. We all had a drink of water and went back to training.

After another hour, Stein came over and I almost lopped his head off.

"Sorry, Stein. Need something?" I asked him casually.

"Well, actually, yes."

"And that would be?"

"I have an assignment for you."

I stopped what I was doing and let Silara go back to human form. "Already? B-but Stein, we're hardly qualified. This is only our first day of Weapons' Training." Silara said. Stein nodded his head understandingly.

"I know. But you two show quality that I don't see from many students until their second year at the academy. You _are_ qualified."

Silara and I looked at each for a moment. I nodded my head. "Alright, Stein. What's your assignment?" I asked him cautiously. He smiled at me and his eyes shone with satisfaction behind his glasses.

"There's a Kishin report up in the mountains, a little ways away from Death City. You girls and another group will go up there and battle him."

"If it's just one Kishin, why not send a regular team to kill 'im?"

"Because, this Kishin is very strong and powerful. It requires a full team to execute him."

"Why add us to the team?"

"This is a good time for you to show your skills to other students and get used to killing Kishins."

"Whatever. When is this mission going to happen?"

"Tomorrow. The Kishin hasn't been active for a couple days, but that's probably because nobody's been up there since the last attack."

"Okay. So does this mean we're done with weapons' training?"

Stein laughed at my question. "No. you still need to learn how to handle Silara a little more."

I stomped my foot like a child. "Then why the hell are you sending us on damn mission?"

"I already told you. Anyway, you should train more with your weapon."

I sighed impatiently. "Fine. Who are we working with tomorrow?"

"You'll find out then. Now, get back to training."

I rolled my eyes at him and waved him away. Once again, Silara glowed lightly and transformed back into a katana and we went back to slicing up fake Kishins.


	13. I Failed

It was eerily quiet as Silara and I walked down the hallway.

"So, you really think we're that good?" I asked Silara.

"What do ya mean?"

"It's odd, I think. How Stein just thinks we're ready for a mission already."

"Well, you did have a partner before me. So you're skilled."

"Not much. I haven't trained in years."

"It seems like you train every day."

"Nope. What about you? You're a pretty strong weapon. Any training?

"Not really."

I stopped there. I didn't have anything else to say. I looked up and saw we were at our usual classroom.

"Here, let's go and see who our team is." I said to Silara. She smiled brightly and I smiled back as we entered the room. My smile quickly faded.

"Uh…" I started. I couldn't find the words.

"_You're _the new addition to our team?" Soul asked, surprised.

**Moments Earlier**

"So, Stein says we're supposed to get new people on our team…" Soul said boredly to Maka, Black Star, Tsubaki, Kid, Liz, and Patty.

"Well, we don't need an addition. I could take this Kishin on myself!" Black Star shouted as he jumped onto a desk. Everyone rolled their eyes.

"I hope these newbies are good…" Liz said, inspecting her nails.

"Liz, that isn't nice." Kid scolded her. Liz rolled her eyes again.

"They've gotta be good to be a new student and get on a team already." Maka told them all happily.

"Maybe it's Angel." Tsubaki suggested.

"It can't be, she doesn't have a partner." Liz replied

Kid smirked and shoved his hands into his pockets. _How much ya wanna bet? _Kid thought sarcastically. Just then everyone heard footsteps in the hallway.

"They're here!" Patty shouted excitedly. There was a click as the door creaked open.

"Uh…" I started. I couldn't find the words.

"_You're _the new addition to our team?" Soul asked, surprised.

"Eh, yes?" I said, questioning myself. Silara came up from behind me.

"Who's that?" Maka asked me.

"This is my weapon, Silara." I told them. Silara smiled at them and waved. Maka smiled back.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Maka." They shook hands.

"This is Soul, Liz, Patty, Kid, Tsubaki and-" I was interrupted by a certain blue-haired nuisance of an assassin.

"AND _I_ AM THE GREATEST ASSASIN EVER! I AM THE ONE AND ONLY BLACK STAR!"

By the look on Silara's face, I could tell she was going to hate him almost as much as me. I giggled a little and my eyes darted directly to Kid. He was staring at Silara, his mouth partially open. I smirked and walked over to him. I knew what he was thinking: _Wow, Silara is almost symmetrical! If only she didn't have that belt…_

I waved my hand in front of his face rapidly.

"Earth to Kid!" I shouted. He was still staring. I rolled my eyes and punched him lightly. Nothing. I punched him again, harder. Nothing!

"OH MY GOD! KID, YOU'RE COMPLETELY ASYMMETRICAL!"

He snapped out of it. His face went totally white.

"What?!"

We all laughed at him. "Never mind, Kid. I was just joking." I told him between fits of giggles. He made a disappointed sound and walked away.

"So, are we good to go kill a Kishin?" I asked, realizing what we were all here for.

"Oh, yes." Soul said.

"Alright. Let's do this!" Silara shouted and pumped her fist in the air.

**At The Mountains**

"So, where is it?" I asked. As if to answer my question a tall and creepy looking man carrying a dagger came out from behind a large rock.

"Ah, my next meal has arrived." He said as he stared hungrily at us.

"I don't think so creepy!" I yelled and slashed his arm off. He winced at the pain.

"Ow! That hurt. You know, you're really mean…

"That's my specialty." I told him sarcastically. The Kishin smirked and laughed crazily. For moment I didn't understand, then his arm began to grow back.

"Oh, crap."

We all split up, taking different angles at him. "Try all you want, but I cannot be defeated, not even if you get my heart or soul." he teased us.

"You don't have a soul anymore, ya damn Kishin!" Maka yelled. The Kishin chuckled.

"The only way to defeat me is by _ripping_ out my heart or cutting off my head."

"And why did you just tell us how to kill you?" Kid asked, confused.

"Becau- oh… Forget everything I said."

"Nah, I think we're good." I told him. He came at me, and I barely dodged it, receiving a small cut on my cheek. I wiped away the blood went at him again, aiming for his heart. I lodged Silara into his chest and twisted. The Kishin smiled wickedly.

"Off by an inch, my dear." he told me. I gasped and he stabbed my right shoulder. I cried out in pain and dropped to the ground. There was too much blood for me to just wipe away. I breathed slowly, but loudly. I saw Black Star charge at him and stab his stomach.

"You can't hurt my friend!" Black Star shouted. Friend? I thought he hated me, like I hated him…

I got up, clutching my shoulder. Silara appeared in the blade. "Are you okay, Angel?" she asked, a concerned look on her face.

"I-I'm fine. I've taken worse shots." I said shakily. Kid blasted him a bunch of times and Maka waited patiently for her turn. When Kid finished, she charged and aimed for his neck. I attempted to distract him by running at him again. He caught Soul's blade with one hand and stabbed me again in leg. I winced and kicked him in the stomach. He let go of Soul and doubled over. Maka backed up a bit and I tried my hand at his heart again. No such luck. Instead, Silara's blade ended up in his arm and he stabbed me, once again, but in my hip. I was getting really angry.

"Why the hell do you keep hurting _me_?!" I shouted. He laughed.

"Because, you're stupid and don't learn from your own mistakes. Your friends seem to." The Kishin said in a sing-songy way. I growled at him but didn't make a move. Kid moved toward me.

"Angel, be careful. Take it easy, you're really hurt." Kid told me, his back turned to the Kishin. I saw the Kishin strike at him.

"No!" I shouted, shoving Kid behind me and letting myself take a blow. He got me on my right arm, underneath where I was stabbed in the shoulder. Everybody's eyes went wide and Kid dragged my over to a rock and sat me down.

"Damn it, Angel! Why the hell did you do that?!" he asked me, angry that I let myself get hurt even more.

"He would've gotten you in the heart." I said weakly, gesturing to his chest. His face went soft.

"Thank you…" he said, brushing some hair out of my eyes. I nodded my head. From behind Kid, I saw the others fighting, getting a bit messed up too. Liz and Patty were switching back and forth and my awesome partner was landing punches on him.

"I have a plan."

"What is it?"

"If we all charged at him at once, one of us is bound to either get him in the heart or head."

Kid smiled. "Good plan."

"Thanks."

I called Silara over and she switched back to katana mode. I managed to get back up and tell the rest about it. Maka took his side, Kid took his back, Black Star at his heart, and me aiming for his head. When the Kishin wasn't looking, I ran up on a tall rock above him. He never noticed me. Away the others went. They tried their hardest, but nobody killed him. He smiled deviously and noticed I was missing.

"Where's the stupid one?" he questioned them. They all just smiled and said nothing. I raised Silara above my head and jumped, screaming like an idiot. He didn't' notice until I was about to get him. I failed.


	14. Maybe we Are Friends

The Kishin had grabbed me by my left wrist.

"I told you that you were stupid!" he told me. I struggled to get free, but his grip was iron-tight. So, I lifted Silara in attempt to kill him once and for all. He chuckled and ripped Silara out of my hands and threw her on the ground. She transformed back into a human and stood up.

"Let go of my meister!" Silara shouted to the Kishin. He wiggled a finger at her as if scolding a child.

"Ah, ah, ah. You want your friend back? Then come and take her. But the only thing you'll get if you attempt to rescue her IS HER DEAD BODY!"

Everyone's eyes went wide, mine included.

"Angel, don't move!" Liz shouted as she appeared in one of Kid's pistols.

"Oh, your name is Angel? How lovely." The Kishin said seductively. He gently dragged the blade of his dagger down my face and I was bleeding again. I held back the tears, knowing I was going to die soon.

"Quit it, you creep!" Black Star said, attempting to defend me.

"My oh my. Your skin is so soft, Angel…" he told me, ignoring Black Star. He traced my forearm with the blade.

"I hate to see anything happen to it!" he yelled and dug the blade in my hand and I cried out in incredible agony. He dragged the blade to the edge of my sleeve. All of a sudden, he dropped me. I clutched my arm tight, though that wasn't going to help. Through blurry vision, I saw Black Star had chopped the Kishin's head off. Kid ran toward me. He was saying something but I couldn't hear a thing. Tears were streaming down his face. That was the last image I saw as I slipped unconscious.

_Soul's POV_

I knocked on the door gently. No answer. So I walked in anyway. I saw Angel lying unconscious in the bed. I sighed deeply and sat down in a chair next to her. I felt so bad, though it wasn't exactly my fault. A single tear rolled down my cheek. _Do not cry, damn it! Crying isn't cool! _I thought to myself and wiped it away. I took her uninjured hand and held it loosely. All of a sudden, hundreds of images flashed in my face. Me seeing her for the first time, talking to her, us on the balcony, her at mine and Maka's house, her barging into my room and her face turning red (like her nickname), me listening to her sing, her being tough and strong and kicking the Kishin's ass, her getting hurt, her smiling, and, my personal favorite, me comparing her to the Maynelia bird and holding her hand a few days ago. I smiled at the last memory. I felt a gentle squeeze on my hand. I looked down and saw Angel was awake.

"Red. Are you okay?" I asked her. She nodded her head.

"I'm fine Soul." Angel told me as she sat up. A look of confusion crossed her face.

"Where am I?"

"The school infirmary." I said, regret creeping into my voice. She looked concerned.

"It's not your fault."

"I know. But it feels like I am the reason your arm is hurt."

"Soul, nothing is your fault."

Angel patted my hand gently. "So, why am I here? My injuries weren't that bad."

"Well, they kinda were. You lost a lot of blood and when the Kishin dropped you, leg cracked slightly. Stein thinks you've lost the use of your arm…"

In response she lifted her left arm and wiggled her fingers and bent it up and down. "Nope, it's fine." she told me cheerfully. I smiled at her.

"I'm glad. Well, I've gotta go. See ya later."

" 'Kay. Stay cool."

"Always."

We laughed a little and I got up and left.

_Angel's POV  
_ When I was sure Soul was gone, I tossed the blankets off myself and stared at my legs. My right leg was wrapped skillfully in bandages and my left had a patch on it where I was stabbed. I got up and just stood there for a moment. Then I went to the bathroom next door. In the mirror, I saw my right arm was wrapped in gauze too, from my shoulder to a little above the elbow. A single band-aid was stuck to my cheek where the Kishin scratched me with the dagger the first time. I lifted my tank-top and saw more bandages around my hips. I gingerly touched the bandages and winced. No wonder I was in the infirmary… I sighed and splashed cold water on my face. I tapped the band-aid to make sure it wouldn't fall off and went back to my comfy little bed. I leaned back against my pillows and pulled the covers back over me. I tried falling asleep, but it was no use. I was wide awake. I looked down at my arm and traced the fresh scar. It started in between my middle and pointer finger, went diagonally down to the edge of my wrist, wrapped around my forearm and ended at my elbow.

"Oh, you're awake." Stein said, surprising me and causing me to jump. I glared at him.

"You clearly don't understand privacy." I grumbled.

"Nope. So how do you feel?"

"Fine. My arm is okay."

I demonstrated this by moving it up and down and wiggling my fingers a bit. He smiled a little.

"Good. So, any pain at all?"

"No, nothing. Am I supposed to be in pain?"

"Not really."

I nodded slightly and shifted uncomfortably. Stein noticed and cleared his throat. "Well I just came to check on you." he told me and left. I was happy to be alone again. I heard a light knock on the door. I groaned loudly.

"Come in as long as I know you." I said a little sarcastically. The door opened and in stepped Black Star and Tsubaki. I blinked a few times, not being able to believe _Black Star _of all people came to visit me. Maybe he did think of me as a friend…

"How ya doing, Angel?" Tsubaki asked politely. I smiled at her.

"Oh, fine."

"That's great!"

I waved at Black Star, who was just staring at me. "Um, hi Black Star."

"Hey, Angel." he said coolly.

"Thanks for helping me…"

"It's the kind of thing a big guy like me would do."

I rolled my eyes. "Yes it sure is, Black Star." I told him sarcastically.

"Black Star, we have to get to class." Tsubaki told him. I then realized it was Tuesday. I smiled and said goodbye to them. They left the room and I suddenly felt tired.


	15. Where'd She Get The Scar?

"So, how long are supposed to be in here?" Kid asked.

"I dunno. A week?" I asked myself.

"Probably two weeks at the most…" he told me, examining my wounds. I snatched my arm away from him.

"Since when are you a doctor?" I questioned him.

"I'm not, but I can tell how bad wounds are." Kid replied, his gold eyes searching my scar.

"Whatever, Dr. Symmetry." I said sarcastically. He smiled at me and propped my right arm around his shoulders. I had asked him to take me around the school a little. I was so bored just sitting in the infirmary with no company 90% of the time. I sighed as I put my weight on him and walked in a limp sort of fashion to my crutches. Having a cracked bone in my leg meant I _had _to walk with crutches, though I felt I didn't need them.

"I'm a little confused, Kid."

"About what?"

"It's just, it feels like I've been in the infirmary for a couple days already, but when we fought the kishin, it seems like decades ago."

"I know, that happens a lot."

"Yeah, but there's something off about the whole fight. It seems almost surreal. Like I just dreamt the whole thing."

"Sometimes life is just an illusion, to blind you from what's real."

"What _is_ real?"

"That's for you to decide."

**Two Days Later**

"I keep telling you, I'm fine!" I shouted.

"I understand you feel that way, but you need rest." Stein said calmly.

"It's been a week already!"

"Angel, you've only been here a few days."

"Well, that seems like good enough resting time. I don't like being cooped up in here."

"I know you don't, but you need re-"

"Rest! I know!"

"If you know then why are you arguing?"

I jumped off the bed. "I can walk without any freaking crutches, I could slam my shoulder into the wall and the only pain will be from the wall, and I could be punched in the arm and it would barely hurt!"

Stein let out a puff of smoke. "Suit yourself. If you get injured more, you know where to find me. But leave the gauze on your leg for the rest of the week."

I should've been happy, I should've been smiling that I won the argument, but I wasn't. I frowned and grabbed my clothes that were folded neatly on the table next my bed.

"Whatever." I muttered as I walked to the bathroom to change.

**Hours Later at Soul and Maka's**

I was glad to be out of the infirmary. I smiled as I knocked on the door. Soul answered.

"Hey, Red. I thought you weren't due out for the rest of the week?"

"I know. I…persuaded Stein to let me out early."

"Oh, cool. Come in."

He opened the door more and I stepped in. Blair and Maka sat on the couch.

"Hey." I said shyly. They both looked up.

"Angel!" Maka said excitedly and ran to hug me.

"Uh, Maka?"

"Yeah?"

"I can't breathe."

Maka let out a laugh and let me go. I smirked at Blair.

"Hi, Blair." I told her in a teasing matter. She just stared at me like she was deciding what to do. I jumped forward and shouted lightly, "Boo!"

Blair jumped up and off the couch. She ran out the door like a scared little kitten. Oh, wait, she _is_ a kitten.

"That will never get old." I told Maka and Soul. They smiled and laughed.

"Hey, I read this book while I was in the infirmary. It was about a demon sword and black blood. It said there was a meister who was infected with black blood and their weapon was infused to them. Is it true?" I asked them. I figured if anyone would know, it would be them. They knew everything that went on in Death City. Maka's face went blank and Soul looked down.

"What? Did I say something?"

"No, no. Come with us." Maka said. I nodded my head slowly as we walked out the door.

**Minutes Later**

"But, this is the academy." I said, confused.

"Yeah." Maka said. She led me down a flight of stairs.

"Where are we going?"

"The dungeons." Soul answered. I wondered but I didn't ask. After a long walk, we stopped in front of a metal door. Maka sighed and slid it open.

"Crona?" she asked the air. There was a weak reply.

"Maka? Is that you?"

A smiled crossed her face. "Yes, it's me and Soul." We entered the room. I saw a bed, a dresser, and a small window with bars on it. In the corner was a lanky boy with pink hair. He wore a black robe and he was barefoot.

"Who's that behind you?" the boy asked, alarmed at the sight of me.

"It's okay. She's just a friend." Maka told him and held out a hand to help him up. When he was standing, he gave Maka a light hug. The boy lingered behind Maka, staring at me. She gestured for me to come closer, so I took a step toward them.

"Angel, this is Crona." she told me. I smiled at him. Maka stepped to the side and held Crona's shoulder. "Crona, this is mine and Soul's new friend, Angel."

Crona began to shiver. "Sh-she doesn't look like an angel."

My smile grew. "I get that a lot." I extended my hand and Crona held his out shakily. I grasped his for a moment and let go. He smiled a little. All of a sudden, a small black and white figure appeared on top of Crona's head.

"Crona, what-or who-is that?" I asked him. His eyes floated up and his smile disappeared. He pointed to the thing on his head.

"This is Ragnorak."

The thing-er, Ragnorak- waved. "Hiya, toots." Ragnorak said. My eyes flashed with anger.

"Don't call me that." I told him angrily. He shook his rounded white hands.

"Okay, okay. Geez, Maka, you're friend is really touchy."

I growled and went to punch either Crona or Ragnorak, whichever my fist collided with. But Maka grabbed my wrist.

"Angel, stop. Ragnorak always is like that." she told me, defending them both. I looked back at Crona, who was shaking again. My expression turned soft.

"You can't control Ragnorak. Can you?" I asked him. He shook his head. I gently touched his arm. My eyebrows knitted together. "I'm sorry, Crona."

He stopped shaking. Then a realization hit me. I turned my head to Maka and Soul, who seemed shocked at my sudden change in attitude. I turned back to Crona. "You were infected with black blood, weren't you?"

He nodded his head solemnly. "And Ragnorak became a part of you, then." I added. He nodded once again. "How?"

"Lady Medusa was my mother. She melted down the demon sword, Ragnorak, and infused it with my blood. I grew up with Ragnorak popping out of my back whenever he felt like it."

"Lady Medusa? The witch with the snakes?"

"Yes."

My fingers grazed his. "Oh, Crona. I'm so sorry."

His eyes flew down to my hand and he picked it up quickly. He touched my scar and winced, as if it hurt him. Crona looked expectantly at Soul.

"What happened to her arm?" he asked Soul.

"She was attacked by a Kishin in a battle." Soul told Crona. He was shaking again. I held onto his arm with my free hand.

"What's wrong?"

"He doesn't like scars." Maka told me.

"Why."

"Because he gave me my scar." Soul said.

I was shocked. How could such a timid boy do such a thing?

"Sometimes he goes mad because of the black blood. Our first encounter with him, he attacked me with Ragnorak when he was in weapon form. He was crazy." Soul explained. Mine and Crona's eyes locked. I held his hands in front of me. I was suddenly in what I think was his Spiritual Dimension.


	16. Smoothies

It was like a desert. I saw Crona sitting down in a drawn circle. He was younger, just a child. And then I realized I was too. My black hair was in braids and I wore a red tutu-like dress, white lacey socks, and black mary-janes.

"Crona?" I asked. He looked up and saw me.

"Don't come in my circle."

"Why not?"

"Because you're a stranger."

"I don't want to be a stranger. I want to be your friend."

He shook his head. "No, only Maka is allowed in my circle."

"Why not me?"

"I-I don't know how to deal with this!"

Crona buried his head in his knees and began to cry. I wanted to step in his little circle and comfort him, but when I tried to get in, it seemed like there was a force field keeping me from reaching him. A look of anger crossed my face. I picked up a large stick and erased a small section of the circle with my foot. Using the stick, I drew a pathway and another circle around me connecting to the path.

"Look, Crona." I commanded. He shook his head again. I was getting mad. "Yes!"

"No! I don't want to!"

"Crona, just look up!"

He sniffled and lifted his head as he wiped away a few tears. "What-what did you do to my circle?" he asked.

"I made it bigger. Now there's more room." I told him with a smile. I threw the stick and walked across the pathway.

"No, I like my circle small." He said to me, trying to keep me from him.

"There's more room for friends," I said, ignoring his last statement, "and I want to be in your circle."

Crona stood up as I walked toward him. "Really?" he asked. I nodded my head.

"Really. I want to be your friend."

He smiled and I smiled back. I stood directly in front of him. "Crona, am I your friend?" I asked him.

"Yes. You are my friend, Angel." I smiled again as I stepped closer.

"And you're _my _friend." I told him and hugged him. I felt his frail hands wrap around me and there was a sudden gust of wind. I opened my eyes to find myself back in Crona's room in the dungeons. I was still hugging Crona and he was hugging me. We parted and I nodded my head at him. I heard a little giggle escape from him and laughed myself. I turned back to Soul and Maka. They were smiling. I then felt a little closer to Maka.

"I understand how you felt as a child. Alone, worthless, unloved." I thought aloud, gripping my arm tighter with each word that described my own childhood. Crona reached out and stroked my arm.

"You _do_ understand me. How?" he asked, searching my eyes.

"Crona, she understands because that's how _she _felt." Soul answered for me. Crona's hand dropped and his mouth formed a tiny O.

"I-I'm not comfortable talking about this…" I told them. Before I had time to think, I ran. I ran out of Crona's room, up the stairs, down a few halls, and out the door of the academy. I looked around and ran around the side of the building. My breath quickened, even though I wasn't doing anything besides sinking to my knees. I stared at the ground for a moment then the tears came. I cried for what seemed like hours. But it was only minutes until someone wrapped their arms around my shoulders. Any other time I would've pushed them away, but I felt too weak to move. My breathing slowed a little as the tears continued to stream down my face like a river. The person stroked my hair gently. Finally I was done crying.

"Are you okay?" Soul's voice came. I hugged my knees to my chest let out a long and exasperated breath.

"I'm fine. Where are Maka and Crona?"

"They're still in Crona's room."

"Why did you come after me?"

"I wanted to make sure you were alright."

"I can handle myself, Soul."

"I know you can."

I played with the laces of my shoes and sighed.

"I feel like such a baby."

"Even the toughest of people get upset."

"But why am _I _upset? I have dealt with this for my entire life."

"That's why."

"Why what?"

I looked up at him. He moved a little closer to me and crossed his legs.

"Why you finally cried. You've been holding it back for a long time. After you connected with Crona, you heart couldn't take it. And you cried."

It was true. It was all true. "Thank you, Soul." I told him and rose to my feet.

"Anytime, Red."

I smiled slightly as he said my nickname. I really liked it…

We walked back inside the academy and met Crona and Maka halfway through the dungeons.

"Hey, guys." Maka said with a smile.

"Hi…" I replied, and shifted uncomfortably.

"You gonna come back to the apartment with us?" she asked me, Crona was standing behind her, asking the same thing with his eyes.

"Sure. If Blair's back, then I can show Crona what to do if she's bothering him." I told them cheerfully. They smiled and we went back to Soul and Maka's.

**At Soul and Maka's**

"I say we celebrate!"

"Maka, why in the world should we celebrate?"

"Because it would be nice."

I rolled my eyes. "Okay, if you insist. But something really casual."

"I know. How about we go out for smoothies? We can call Kid, Liz, Patty, Tsubaki and Black Star."

"Smoothies sound fine. We can do this when?"

"I think tonight sounds good."

I nodded my head and looked at Crona. "You wanna come too?" I asked him.

"Um, sure…"

"Crona, you don't have to if you don't wa-"

"I want to."

I smiled at him and turned my attention back to Soul and Maka.

"I'll call Kid, Liz, and Patty. What's their number?" I said as I pulled out my cell phone. Maka told me the number and I pressed 'call'.

"Hello? Who is this?" Kid's voice rang through the phone.

"Hey, Kid. It's Angel. Maka thinks we should celebrate the fact that I'm out of the infirmary. We're all going out for smoothies soon. You, Liz, and Patty are welcome to come."

"Oh, okay. We'll be there."

I smiled even though he couldn't see. " 'Kay, later."

"Later."

I hung up the phone. "They're coming." I informed Soul. He nodded his head.

"Black Star, just give the phone to Tsubaki!" Maka shouted into the receiver. Soul and I snickered and Maka sighed of relief.

"Hi, Tsubaki."

We heard a faint voice on the other end of the line. Maka continued to tell Tsubaki the details and plans for the night as Soul, Crona, and I sat on the couch in silence.

"Okay, let's get ready." Maka finally said. Soul disappeared into his room to go change and Crona stood up, not knowing what to do.

"Crona, you wait here." I told him. He nodded his head and sat back down. I turned my attention back to Maka before she went to her room. "Hey, can I borrow something? It'll take forever if I go back to my house." I asked her. She smiled brightly.

"Of course, Angel!"

We went to her room and I dug through her drawers. Maka ended up wearing a plaid green skirt, black sandals, and a pink sweater-shirt. I picked out a black long-sleeve dress was about four inches above my knees, red knee-highs, and black punk-rock sort of style boots that reached just above my ankles. I had Maka do my hair in spiky little pigtails, but I kept my red headband in. She kept her hair the same. I stepped out of her room and saw Soul wearing a blue hoodie, a gray t-shirt, distressed jeans, and black sneakers. He stood up when he saw me.

"Wow, Red. You look… different." Soul told me. I blushed.

"Th-thanks…" I said shyly. I saw Maka smile out of the corner of my eye.

"Alright, everyone ready?" She asked us. I nodded and we walked out the door.

**At the Smoothie Shop**

"I guess we're the first ones here." I said as I took a seat on a plush spinney-stool. Just then, there was a bell, the one that hung over the door to let the employees know a customer is there. I turned to see Kid, Patty, and Liz walking in. I smiled at them while Liz and Patty took a seat at a corner booth we had reserved earlier. Kid walked over to me and sat down.

"You are almost symmetrical." He said in partial awe. I giggled.

"Would be if not for my scar." I say, somewhat happily.

"Hey, call it a battle scar." Soul said, occupying the other seat beside mine.

"Sure, why not?" I replied.

"Hey, guys! You gonna order some smoothies or what?" I heard Maka say. I was about to say Black Star and Tsubaki weren't here, but there they were at the booth. I shrugged and sat down on the end.

I ordered my cherry smoothie and set down my iPod and cell phone on the table. Everybody ordered their smoothies while I zoned out, suddenly thinking about Silara. Why she hadn't come to visit me in the infirmary, why Maka didn't even suggest we invite her, where the hell she was. I shook it off when my smoothie arrived. I smiled and slurped the majority of it down.

**An Hour Later**

We talked and laughed about stupid things, Maka even had to drink some of Crona's smoothie to show him it wasn't poisoned. But the creepy sun was going down so I had to go.

"I'll see ya guys tomorrow." I said as I picked up my things and placed them in the small red bag I brought to carry it all. I smiled and waved as I walked out the door.

It was a two minute walk from the smoothie shop to my house. About a minute after I left, I noticed a shadow following me. I quickly turned the corner of a random alley and pulled out my switchblade that I'd started carrying around after the incident with Narook. The follower, as I expected, turned the corner. I grabbed their arm and held the blade to their throat.

"Hey, I thought we were friends!" Soul said, his voice a little shaky. I smirked and drew the blade back.

"Sorry, I didn't know it was you." I told him as I put the knife away in my bag. Soul nodded, flashing his sharp teeth. "So, what's up?"

"You left your iPod."

"Thanks…" I took it back from him and put it away. Soul turned to leave, but I grabbed his arm.

"Need something else?" he asked, confused. I shook my head quickly. Then, I kissed his cheek and ran away as fast as I could in those boots.


	17. You Don't Need to Worry About Me

_Please don't stare, please don't stare… _I thought to myself as I stood in front of the door to class Crescent Moon. I took a deep breath and opened the door. I looked at the floor as I walked to my seat next to Kid and Silara. When I finally looked, nobody was looking at me at all. I smiled and tapped Silara on the shoulder.

"Hey, how are you?" she asked me.

"I'm just fine. And you?"

"Great."

There was nothing left to say, so I said nothing.

"Hello, class. Today we will-" Stein began. He was interrupted by Cupid.

"Stein! There's a fight going on out front!" she reported. A bunch of students stood up and ran to the windows at the back of the room. Soul and Maka were among them, so when they came back I asked them who it was.

"Just some students. Fights happen all the time here." Maka told me. I nodded my head and watched as Stein rolled out the door to go deal with the fight.

**After School**

I was incredibly bored when I finished my dinner, not that eating sushi is that fun. So, I dialed Kid's number and waited for someone to pick up.

"Hello?" Kid asked.

"Hey, Kid."

"Oh, hi Angel."

"So, I'm super bored. You wanna hang out?"

"Um, sure. Meet me at the park."

"Okay, I'll be there in ten."

"Alright."

I hung up and put my phone away in my pocket. Hanging out with Kid is nice when it's just the two of us. But when Liz and Patty are around, I get all stiff. I locked the door and began walking to the park.

**At the Park**

"Hey, Kid." I said as I walked up to him. He looked up at me and smiled.

"Hello, Angel."

We sat down on a bench and I leaned against the arm rest as I kicked my feet up. "So how's your arm?" he asked me. I was hoping so badly that he wouldn't ask.

"Oh, ya know, fine. Feels like nothing happened." I explained with a wave of my hand. He smiled again and stood up suddenly. I raised my eyebrows at him.

"Let's go tree climbing." He suggested. I stood up next to him.

"Really? I though you didn't like climbing trees." I admitted.

"I never said that." Kid told me and led me to a tree. I smiled as I grabbed onto a lower branch and hoisted myself up. Once settled on a sturdy branch, I looked down to see Kid struggling. I giggled and climbed back down to help.

"Tree climbing isn't your thing." I said as I stood on a branch next to Kid. I held onto the trunk and let Kid sit on the branch.

"Nope, I guess not." he agreed.

I furrowed my eyebrows at a realization I just had. "Kid, why were you crying when… when I passed out? After the battle with the Kishin." I asked. He suddenly looked down.

"Because, I thought you were hurt. I mean, I knew you were hurt but I was afraid you might die…" he said sadly.

"Oh… well I'm not dead." I said hopefully. I let go of the trunk and crouched down and laid a hand on his shoulder. He smiled reassuringly. "Kid, you don't need to worry about me."

"I know. You're tough and skilled. But, I care about you." Kid said. I let my hand drop to my side. A small smile spread across my face.

"Thank you. I care about you too." I admitted. I stood back up and gazed out at the park, a nice breeze blowing the hair out of my face,

"When's your birthday?" Kid suddenly asked. I looked at him and finally said,

"In two weeks actually."

"Oh? Were you planning on celebrating?"

"I probably would've let it pass by."

"Why?"

"I'm not one to celebrate a number."

"I can throw you a party."

"That really isn't necessary."

"Please? I want to celebrate."

"I don't see why…"

Kid sighed and looked away for a moment, then back to me. "How old will you be?"

"Fifteen. If you really want to celebrate… we can."

"Really? Oh this will be fun. We can hold the party at my house."

"Thanks, I guess."

"You're welcome. It won't be anything too fancy, but still nice."

"Good. Well it's getting late, I should head home."

Kid and I said farewell and I left for home.

**Sometime Later**

The wind bit through my sneakers and chilled my toes. I shivered a bit, and looked around. Something was off. I turned back around and kept walking. My house came into view and I started running, eager to get away from the eerie feeling that hung in the chilled air. As I reached the edge of my yard, I saw a familiar pink head sitting on my porch. I ran up to him and kneeled down.

"Crona! What are you doing here?" I asked, totally shocked. He looked up.

"I was too far away from the academy and Maka's…" he explained solemnly.

"Do you wanna spend the night?" I asked him sweetly. He smiled and nodded. I helped him up and unlocked the door. I closed the door and sat on the couch. Crona looked around the room.

"Your house is big." He said meekly.

"I suppose." I said and stood back up. I grabbed his arm and took him upstairs. "This is my room. You can sleep on air mattress." I told him as I slid out the air mattress. I grabbed the air pump and hooked it up to the mattress.

After there was enough air, I set it up in the corner for Crona to sleep on. When I turned around, I saw Crona sitting on the bed and Ragnorak had appeared.

"Hey, Ragnorak." I said, unamused.

"Hey, Toots."

"Looks like you guys are staying here for the night. Are you hungry?"

"Starving!"

I laughed and led them downstairs to the kitchen where I fixed them a snack.

"Thank you, Angel." Crona said when he was done. I smiled at him.

"No problem." I said as I tossed a piece of candy into Ragnorak's mouth. He chewed noisily and I rolled my eyes.

"You're alright, Toots." he told me. I smiled again, I began warming up to Ragnorak. We all went back up to my room and I switched out my clothes for my pajamas in my closet where they couldn't see me.

I gathered a blanket and pillow for Crona. He thanked me and so did Ragnorak before he disappeared. I gave Crona a quick hug before I settled down into my own bed.

"Goodnight Crona." I said as I slid my hand underneath my pillow.

"Night, Angel." he replied. I smiled as I fell into a peaceful sleep.

**A/N**

**A special thanks to toxicswallow for informing me of how much she must like this fanfic. She informed in by telling me that she and her friend made a bet on my story, and her friend now owes her two bucks. Any other special reviews, and you will be thanked by me personally at the end of the next chapter posted. Oh, and I'll be attempting to update a chapter every two days. Enjoy the rest of the story!**

**~Marysa**


	18. Picture Perfect

Daylight poured through the window and kissed my face. I smiled at the warmth and opened my eyes. The first thought in my mind was, _Crona. Crona. Where's Crona? _I saw him sitting up on his mattress.

"M-m-morning, Angel." He stuttered.

"Morning, Crona. How long have you been up?"

"I dunno. Two hours, maybe?"

"Wow, okay. Breakfast?"

Crona nodded and followed me downstairs. I started cooking eggs and stopped.

"You aren't a vegan, are you?" I asked Crona. I felt a little bad for not asking him. But he shook his head.

"No, eggs are fine." he replied, and looked down at the floor. I smiled weakly and continued with cooking the eggs.

**20 Minutes Later**

Crona ate slowly, almost hesitantly, I think. It bothered me a little. And soon after I noticed this, Ragnorak came out.

"Hiya, Toots!" he said excitedly. I swear that was, like, his catch phrase.

"Hey. You hungry, too?" I asked him. I liked Crona, we had some sort of… connection, I guess. So, I figured to try liking Ragnorak.

"Are you kidding? I'm starved!" Ragnorak exclaimed. Crona sat quietly and twiddled his thumbs. My eyebrows knitted together and I patted his shoulder as I walked by to get Ragnorak some food.

"Hey, got any candy left?" he asked.

"Candy? Is that all you want?"  
"Sure! I love candy!"

I rolled my eyes and sat a handful of candy in front of him. I told Crona I was going upstairs to change and disappeared into my room. I quickly dressed and met Crona downstairs. I finished tying my bandana and sat back down.

"Crona, do you want to go over to Maka and Soul's?" I asked him, tugging at my jacket sleeve, which _still_ hung down low on the right.

"Sure." Crona replied meekly. I smiled and led him to the door.

**At Soul and Maka's**

"Hey, guys!" Maka said when she answered the door. She smiled and Crona and I went inside. We sat down on the couch and Maka brought us each a drink.

"Soul and I were just about to come get you for basketball." she told me. I then realized it was Saturday- basketball day- and I was glad I wore what I wore.

"That's kinda funny." I said to her. I heard a door open behind me and I knew who it was.

"Oh. Hey, Red." Soul's voice came.

I turned to him and said, "Hey Soul."

Then I remembered Crona was there. He was quiet, he was easy to forget.

"Crona, do you want to play, too?"

"Um, I don't know."

"Come on, please?"

"Well, okay…"

I smiled, then frowned because guess who the cat dragged in. Herself.

"Hello, Blaire." I said threateningly.

"Hi A-Angel." she replied. She walked along the wall, steering clear of the center where I sat.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"Nothing… bye!" Blaire said, and dashed into a room. I rolled my eyes.

"Geez, what's her problem?" I asked sarcastically. Everyone laughed, even Crona.

"Well, shall we go?" Soul asked, opening the door, and the four of us headed out to the park.

**At the Basketball Court**

Black Star and Tsubaki were waiting for us, along with Silara. I was happy to see her, and I knew she was happy to see me. She looked different in her basketball clothes. She was wearing black cargo shorts, a blue-violet tank top that showed her stomach a little, green sneakers, ad her hair was down. Kid would love the perfection in her symmetry.

"Silara!" I exclaimed, and ran to greet her. There was a huge grin on her face. She hugged me, and I realized that I only ever saw her in school and at that _one_ battle. I pushed away the thought and would talk to her about it later. I turned around and Black Star was bragging to Tsubaki like always, Maka was just having a little chat with Crona, and Soul was just sitting on the bench. When he saw me looking at him, he turned away and pretended he didn't notice a thing.

"Excuse me a second." I said to Silara, and walked over to Soul. I sat down next to him and tapped his shoulder.

"Oh, hi Red. I didn't see you there."

I rolled my eyes. "Knock it off, Mr. Cool."

Soul chuckled and smiled at me. And, in turn, it made me smile too. Then something in my brain clicked. I shifted my position and pulled my feet up next to me.

"Hey. Kid's throwing me a birthday party in two weeks. Come, you and Maka." I told him. That last part was supposed to be more of a question than a demand.

"Cool. How old will you be?" Soul asked me casually.

"Fifteen."

"Awesome. I'll tell Maka later. Speaking of which, where _is_ Kid?"

I realized he and Liz and Patty weren't there.

"I don't know."

We all waited for them for twenty minutes.

"Where the hell _are_ they?" Silara said as she glanced at her watch.

Kid, Liz and Patty finally arrived and the first thing I noticed was a thin black bag that Kid was carrying.

"Um, Kid. What's that?" I asked, gesturing to the bag. He smiled, set the bag down, and unzipped it. Inside was a digital camera and a stand.

"I figured we could take a picture of everyone. Something to remember." Kid said as he started setting it up.

"I don't do pictures…" I told him.

"Please? One picture. I promise."

I rolled my eyes. "Fine."

After a while, Kid finally got it all ready. He set the timer for one minute and told everyone to pose. We all took our places and stood still. The flash went off and Kid told us to hold still for a few more seconds. Finally, it was done.

**The Next Day**

There was a knock at the door and I peeked out the window to see who it was. I ran downstairs and opened the door.

"Whassup, Kid?" I asked, leaning against the doorway.

"I just came b to give you this." he said, and handed me a small box. I looked up at him, confused.

"It's the picture from yesterday." Kid told me. I smiled.

"Oh, thanks."

"You're welcome. See ya later."

I waved goodbye and closed the door. For a moment I just stood there. Then I ran upstairs to my room and tore it open.

The picture sat in a black frame. I stood it on the stand next to my bed and stared at it for the longest time.

My arms were draped around Silara and Soul, and I flashed the peace sign with both hands. Silara looked like she was waving and Soul had his finger pulling at his lip, forming a smile. Maka had her back to him, but she was looking at the camera and smiling with her arms crossed. Beside her stood Liz, who was turned to Kid, her hands resting on his shoulder. Kid stood straight, but smiled with Patty on the other side of him. She was posed just like Liz, except her smile was bigger.

Then there was Tsubaki. She smiled with her eyes closed and Black Star was crouched down, his arms hanging down and crossing like an X, and he was saying 'rock on' with his hands. Crona stood on the other side of Silara, holding his right arm and smiling. Ragnorak was in the shot and his hands were up in the air.

I finally realized Picture Me was smiling. And it was a _real_ smile. I love that picture. I will forever.


	19. Sleepover

Days went by, getting closer and closer to my party. It was now only…four days away, and I was getting nervous. But I didn't let it show

I sat down next to Silara and prepared myself for _another_ lesson on dissection.

"This is so stupid!" I whispered to her.

"Isn't it?" she replied, and rolled her eyes.

Stein wrote something on the chalkboard and stepped away so everyone could see what it read. My heart dropped.

POP QUIZ: DISSECTION

I barely ever paid attention in class! I usually stared off into space or drew in my notebook. Stein handed out the dang test to everyone and told us we had the whole class to complete it.

"Begin." he said.

_Okay, how many questions? Forty-five?! Crap…_

I sighed and printed my name at the top. With an uneasy feeling, I started the test.

**After School**

"That was stupid! I mean, come on, a test on dissection?" I complained to Soul and Maka.

"Well, that's Dr. Stein for ya." Maka said. I nodded my head in agreement.

"Stein… Geez, where do I begin? He sent me and Silara to Weapons' Training and pulled us out on our first day! Dang, he really needs to make up his mind." I went on.

"Stein may seem like an idiot, but he's not. He helped us defeat the witch Medusa. Numerous times." Soul spoke. He wasn't really defending Stein, but more assuring me of what he was really like.

We arrived at their place soon. Maka and I sat on the couch while Soul made dinner for the first time. Well, the first time _I'd_ ever seen.

"Hey, Angel. Soul and I are having a movie night tomorrow. Everyone's invited and the girls and I are having a sleepover afterwards. Wanna come?" Maka asked. I thought it over for a moment

"Sure. Did you invite Silara too?"

"Of course I did!" she lowered her voice a little, "I'm trying to convince Soul to go over to Black Star's or Kid's for the night. You know, so he won't bother us."

"Well too bad! I live here and nobody's making me leave. Especially when the place will be filled with girls." Soul chimed in, causing me and Maka both to jump. I grabbed a pillow and chucked it at Soul's head.

"Ow! Watch it, Red!" he shouted.

I giggled and turned back to Maka. "Tomorrow night will be interesting."

**The Next Day**

I pulled a bag down from my closet and packed a blanket, my brush, clothes for tomorrow, and my pajamas. Slinging the bag over my shoulder, I grabbed a pillow and walked out the door. It was still light out and it made me feel a bit better. I stopped at Kid's so we could all walk together.

"Hi, Angel. Come on in. We'll only take a minute." Liz said as she answered the door. I noticed there were _three _bags on the couch.

"Whose bag is that?" I asked.

"Two are mine. One's for clothes and the other is for make-up. The extra is Patty's, obviously." Liz replied.

"Oh, joy. Make-up…" I said sarcastically.

Kid and Patty came downstairs. "Are we ready yet?" Kid asked. Liz and Patty nodded their heads and we all left for Soul and Maka's.

**At Soul and Maka's**

When we arrived, Silara and Tsubaki and Black Star were already there. The girls were in their pajamas already. I went to Maka's room and changed into my black pants with white skulls on them and my red tank top that had a silhouette of a bird on it and pulled my hair back into a ponytail.

I sat down on the couch next Silara. She wore a jersey style nightgown that was blue and green and had the number eleven printed on it. Her hair was down and neatly scooped back with a green headband.

"Know what we're watching?" I asked her.

"Nope. Well, Maka said something about a horror movie." Silara answered.

"Cool."

Soul sat down on the other side of me. "Hey Red. You talking 'bout me?" he said.

"You wish. Actually, we were talking about the movie."

"Oh? Yeah, it's kinda creepy."

"Good, I wanna be up all night!"

"I know I will be." Soul glanced around the room at all the girls. He ended with me.

I punched him in the arm. Soul looked almost sorry.

Maka came out of her room, a movie in hand.

"Movie time!" she said, raising her arms in the air. There was a cheer from everyone in the room.

"This'll be a scream!" Patty said from across the room. I couldn't help but smile.

Before the movie started, Maka made everyone get off the couch. She and Soul pulled the cushions off and flipped the inside out, revealing a mattress.

"Okay! Now everyone will have more room." Maka said, gesturing for everyone to sit back down. We all resumed our previous positions. A few people sat at the end so they could see the movie better. I rested my head against the back of the couch. Only it wasn't the couch. It was somebody's arm. I looked over.

"Soul, move your dang arm!" I said, shoving him away. He smirked at me and I rolled my eyes.

The movie started with a look at the full moon during a thunder storm. Well that's not cliché.

**After the Movie**

"Later guys." I said, waving to Kid and Black Star. They waved back and left.

"Be right back." Liz said to us, and went into Maka's room, where all the bags were stored. She came out a second later with one of her bags.

_Oh no._ I thought to myself.

"I brought make-up!" Liz shouted happily and dropped the bag on the end of the mattress.

"And that's my cue to leave!" Soul said, heading for his room.

"Oh, no, no. You said you wanted to stay, so stay!" I told him, grabbing his arm and pulling him back down on the mattress-couch.

"You gotta be kidding, Red."

"Nope. You can sit through make-up torture with me."

**An Hour Later**

I didn't let them do any make-up on me except black nail polish. I really am not into all that girl crap. And while the girls beautified themselves, I help myself to some pizza in the kitchen.

"I thought you said we _both_ had to through make-up torture." Soul said as he grabbed a slice of pepperoni and sat down next to me.

"Did I?" I asked sarcastically. We both let out a laugh. Soul's eyes glinted as well as his sharp teeth. I cocked my head and just stared at him for a moment.

"What?" he asked, cocking his head and mimicking me.

"Huh? Oh, nothing." I replied casually. I continued eating my pizza. Soul looked down and played with something in his hands. I couldn't tell what it was.

"What's that?" I asked him. He quickly put it away, as if it were a big secret.

"Nothing." Soul said. I was a little suspicious of what he had. But I was sure it wasn't a bomb. A bomb can't be that small. Not that I thought _Soul_, of all people, would have a bomb.

All of a sudden, Liz was there.

"Soul… I was wondering…" she started. Soul looked a little sacred. "Can I sleep in your room tonight? You can sleep out here. I mean, I have back problems from always being in weapon form. And it's hard for me to sleep anywhere than a normal bed."

Soul's face lightened. "Ah… what about Maka's room?" he asked. I figured he'd say yes so he could sleep in a room full of girls.

"Maka's sleeping there."

"…Fine."

Liz smiled and thanked as she went back with the others.

"Well aren't you sweet?" I teased.

"Can it, Red!"

I giggled and shoved him lightly.

"Angel, we're playing Truth -or-Dare!" Patty exclaimed.

"You can hide now." I told Soul.

"Thank you." he replied, and dashed into his room. I rolled my eyes.

"Angel, come on!" Silara said. I dragged myself to the living room and sat on the edge of the couch while everyone else sat on the floor in a circle.

"Silara, you first!" Maka chirped.

"Okay!" she replied.  
"Truth or dare?"

"Truth."

"Who do like? As in like-like."

Like-like? What are we, kindergarteners?  
"Oh… I kinda like Kid…"

Silara blushed.

"Truth or dare, Tsubaki?" Silara asked.

And on and on it went.

"Angel?" Liz said.

"Hm?"

"Truth or dare?"

"Uh…" I began. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Soul's bedroom door was cracked open. Just enough so he could hear.

"Truth."

"Okay, who do _you_ like?"

His door opened a little more.

"Did I say truth? I meant dare."

"Alright, I _dare_ you to answer that question."

I smiled deviously. "Look." I whispered so only the girls could hear me, and jerked my thumb towards Soul's door. They knew what I meant.

"Well, I like Soul!"

Just as I finished my sentence, Soul fell through his door.

"Soul Evans!" Maka scolded. "Were you eavesdropping?"

His face turned red.

"Uh… a little…" he admitted.

_Well, duh…_

I smirked and grabbed my pillow, and started beating Soul with it. And it wasn't long before he hit me back with his own pillow.

"This means war." I joked. Silara backed me up and hit him in the head. Pretty soon, it was an all-out pillow fight. Which I bet Soul loved.

**Two Hours Later**

Everyone had fallen asleep a half hour ago. Except me and Soul.

"So you like me?" Soul teased, popping another movie in.

"Knock it off already!"

He laughed and sat back down.

"Comedy." Soul said, referring to the movie.

"Okay."

"Popcorn?"

"Please!"

I grabbed a handful and shoved it in my mouth.

"This better be funny." I said, still swallowing a few kernels.

"Not really. But I'm tired and this movie puts me to sleep." he shrugged.

"Fine. I'm a little tired too." I replied, sinking down into the covers more. I was wedged between Silara and Soul and Soul was stuck between me and the arm of the couch.

About a third of the way through the movie, my eyes got heavy. Soul was barely awake. I tugged at the blanket and gave way to a blissful sleep.

_Soul's POV_

I had just fallen asleep when something was put down on my chest. It was Angel.

"Um, Red?" I asked, tapping her shoulder. She was sleeping. I didn't want to wake her, so I just let her lie there. Before I fell back asleep, I found myself wrapping my arm around her pale shoulders.


	20. Angelina is Dead

I, once again, found Soul's arm around me. At first, I was more comfortable than I had ever been. Finally, though, I had the courage to open my eyes. What I saw was my head on Soul's chest and his arm around my bare shoulders.

I sat up quickly and pushed him onto the floor. Then everyone else in the living room woke up.

"What the hell?" Silara asked, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.

"I fell, that's what." Soul replied casually. To be honest, I felt a little bad. I didn't _need_ to push him. It was kind of an instinct. Maka threw open her bedroom door.

"What was that?" she demanded.

"Soul fell!" Patty cackled. Maka rolled her eyes.

"I'm hungry." I said.

"I'll make breakfast!" Tsubaki answered.

"Where's Liz?" Silara asked.

"In Soul's room." I told her.

I walked over to the door and opened it. Liz was lying on her stomach, one arm dangling over the edge of the bed and her eye mask covered only one eye.

"Liz, wake up." I said, shoving her a little.

"Go away." she commanded with a wave of her hand.

"After you get your butt outta bed I will."

Liz just groaned in reply.

"Liz! There's a sale on shoes!" I lied.

"Nice try, Angel. But I'm not getting up for another twenty minutes to a half hour."

I smirked. "Fine, then. You leave me no choice."

I marched off to the kitchen, grabbed an ice pack and a cup of freezing cold water, and went back to Lazy Liz.

"Last chance." I warned her.

"Don't need one."

"Okay…"

I set the ice pack down on her back and poured the water over her mess of blonde hair.

Liz shrieked and jumped out of the bed.

"What happened?" Soul deadpanned.

"Liz wouldn't get up. So I froze her a bit." I told him, and shrugged.

"Yeah, and it was totally uncalled for!" Liz yelled. I giggled and went back to the living room. As I grabbed my bag to go get dressed, my foot touched a silver chain. On the end was a charm that looked like a black bird with red striped wings and a red-tipped tail. The Maynelia bird.

I clutched the necklace and ran to the bathroom. I felt something on the back and turned it over. There was an inscription.

_Happy birthday, Red. Love, Soul_

The necklace was my birthday present. From Soul.

I smiled and got dressed. When I went out to the living room, everyone was in the kitchen eating. But Soul was literally on his hands and knees looking around the couch.

_The necklace. He's looking for the necklace…_ I thought.

He was dressed too, his jacket spread out on the chair.

"What are you looking for?" I asked like I didn't know.

"Oh, nothing…" Soul replied.

"I'll help you look for nothing, then." Soul glanced at me for a moment, and then went back to searching.

When I was sure the coast was clear, I dropped the necklace on the floor and acted as if I hadn't known it was there. Soul noticed it and put it in his pocket hurriedly.

"Thanks, Red." he told me.

"Any time." I replied and turned to face him. He turned to face me at the same time, and his nose brushed against my cheek gently.

Soul stood and helped me up. I cleared my throat.

"Well I'm pretty hungry. How about you?" I asked, walking towards the kitchen.

"Yeah, me too."

**Later That Day**

"Later Soul." I said as I climbed off the back of the motorcycle.

"See ya, Red."

He waved goodbye and sped off, scattering the leaves everywhere. As I walked down the path hidden by trees to my house, I couldn't help but feel some sort of negative energy from the area. Precisely from the graveyard next door. It felt… kind of familiar. So after I dropped off my stuff, I ran around to the back gate. There was nobody there except a girl around my age with long brown hair. She was standing in front of a large grave shaped like an angel. The girl turned around. She had these sad, icy-blue eyes that were very, very familiar. Then it hit me. The girl was Ruhana, my little sister.

She blew a kiss to the stone and left.

When I was sure she was gone, I ran to the angel. It had my face, when I was little. I was scared to look at the engraving. But I did. In loopy, swirly letters read:

_Angelina Tsubasa_

_December 18__th__- June 16__th_

_Seven Years is Too Young… She Will be Missed_

_Loving Sister_

There was a red rose sprouting from the ground and vines winding around the angel's feet and ankles. Tucked gently into the vines was an envelope yellowed with age. I eased the envelope out. My name, Angelina, was scrawled on the front. It was for me, so I opened it.

_Angelina-_

_I miss you so much. I know you're not really dead, but there's something that I need to tell you. Mother and Father told everyone you fell downstairs and broke your neck and that you were dead on the spot. They had a closed-casket funeral and gave you a tiny grave marker. So, when I had enough, I bought you this one. Mother and Father still don't know about it. I love you and always will. Oh, I almost forgot. Happy tenth birthday!_

_Love,_

_Ruhana_

Incredibly calmly, I put the letter back in the envelope and slipped it back through the vines. Then, I collapsed on my knees. It was as if someone had buried a knife into my back. I just sat there, unmoving.

"Am I… dead?" I barely heard my own question over the wind.

"No, you're not dead." a voice came.

"Soul. What are you doing here?" I asked, still staring at my grave.

"You left your hair brush."

"It's just a stupid brush."

"I know. But, something felt… wrong. So I came to make sure you were okay. Are you?"

His question went unanswered. I didn't know if I was okay or not.

"Red, answer me."

I didn't. I didn't even move. Soul sighed and wrapped his jacket around my shoulders.

"Come on. You have to go inside." he told me.

No answer, no movement. He let out a short breath and cradled me in his arms. I still didn't move.

Soul carried me down to my house and sat me down on the couch.

"You're not dead. You're alive and here." he said after a while.

"Where's 'here' Soul?" I asked.

"Your home in Death City."

I didn't reply.

"You're here with me."

That made me look at him. His eyes were worried.

"I am here with you. I'm not dead. Angelina is dead and I am not Angelina." I tell Soul. He smiled at me warmly. And I don't know why, but I hugged him. I buried my face in his neck and he hugged me back, like he never wanted to let go.


	21. Mistletoe

**DO NOT IGNORE! PLEASE READ!**

**A/N**

**I know I do these at the end but, I'm doing it at the beginning this time! So, the titles kind of a dead giveaway, huh? Well, enjoy anyway! Oh, I just wanna advertise an amazing Soul Eater fanfic. Usually, I wouldn't because I hate competish (AKA competition), but this one is too amazing! It's called ****Divided ****by Yoru no Seishin Productions. God, I really hope I spelled that right… Anyway, the writer is amazing, and they lemme make on OC for it! Well, read on!**

Since today was the day of my party, I decided to pamper myself.

I went out to eat a nice breakfast and when I came home, I took a long and relaxing bubble bath. I figured it wouldn't hurt to do something nice for myself. Afterwards, I dressed and made myself some lunch and invited Silara over.

"Happy birthday, Angel." Silara said when she walked through the door.

"Thanks. I made lunch, you hungry?"

"Yeah, thanks."

I lead her to the kitchen and handed her a sandwich. We sat down at the table and ate our lunch.

"So, you ready for your party?" Silara asked.

"Barely. But, it'll be… fun, maybe."

"Maybe? Come on! It's a birthday party at Kid's _mansion_ and it's just for you."

"I'm not a huge fan of parties." I shrugged my shoulders.

"Oh, whatever. You'll have fun."

"Possibly."

"Shut up, you'll have fun. Maybe you'll get to dance with someone."

The first person that popped into my head was Soul for some reason. I blushed at the thought and batted it away.

"Maybe you'll get to dance with _Kid._" I said.

It was Silara's turn to blush. "I think he's gonna hang mistletoe in a lot of the doorways. I'll try to catch him under one."

"Thanks for the info. I'll be steering clear of doorways with the boys."

"That's smart."

We shared a laugh and went upstairs to change into our outfits for the party. Silara wore a beautiful teal dress that was long sleeved and hung off her shoulders. The end of the sleeves formed a triangle and connected to her middle fingers. It went to her knees in the front and to her ankles in the back. I did her hair in a long braid and weaved lime-green ribbon in it for her. Thin gold hoops hung from her ears and her shoes were simple black heels.

I wore a red strapless dress that puffed out a little at my hips and went just above my knees. I pulled my hair back into a neat ponytail and curled it at the bottom then ended up jamming two red chopsticks in my ponytail. Silara told me they looked like a red X. Added to my outfit was a pair of black fishnet gloves to hide my scar a little bit. My only good shoes were a pair of black flats and the boots I borrowed from Maka a few weeks ago. I went with the black flats. At last minute, I put some red studs in my ears and automatically felt that my outfit was complete.

"Ready?" Silara asked me.

"Ready as I'll ever be." I told her. She smiled at me and I smiled back.

"Here we go." I said, and we walked out the door on our way to my party.

**At the Party**

"Finally, I thought you girls would never show!" Kid told us as he greeted us at the door.

"Why wouldn't we? Angel's the guest of honor." Silara said, walking in.

"True." Kid agreed. They walked away from me to the middle of the room to hang out.

"Thanks for ditching me." I said to them, even though I knew only I could hear me.

I went to the food table and saw so many different foods. I helped myself to some chips and pretzels. Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted Silara and Kid next to the staircase. Kid looked up shyly and so did Silara. She pointed upward and he smiled at her. I looked at where she pointed. Mistletoe hung above them. I smirked as Kid kissed her and she wrapped her arms around his neck.

"I knew that was gonna happen." Maka's voice came.

"Oh, I did too." I replied.

She smiled at me. She was wearing a nice pink dress and her hair had two small pigtails with the rest down.

"So, how ya liking your party so far?" she asked.

"Well, the foods pretty good." I said, popping another pretzel in my mouth.

"Soul thinks so too!" Maka told me, gesturing to the food table.

I saw Soul devouring a bunch of strawberries. I giggled.

"Where's Crona?" I asked her.

She suddenly blushed.

"What?" I asked her again.

"Um, I dunno… the last time I saw him was underneath another mistletoe…" Maka told me slowly.

A smile crept onto my face. "You kissed him?"

"Well, yeah."

"Aw, that's sweet. I always thought you two liked each other."

"Yeah…"

"I'll go find him. I wanna say thanks. You know, for coming and all."

"Okay. See ya later."

I walked off in the other direction.

"Hey Black Star. Tsubaki." I said when I saw the pair.

Black Star's suit was a little too big, but not that bad. Tsubaki wore a nice green dress and her hair was up in a partial bun.

"Hi Angel. Happy birthday." Tsubaki said.

"Thanks."

"Sorry, Angel. But I'm the life of the party tonight!" Black Star told me.

"How nice for you. Have you guys seen Crona?"

"Yeah. He's over there in the corner." Tsubaki answered and pointed her finger to a pink haired boy.

"Thanks." I said.

I weaved my way through the crowd that wasn't supposed to be there because it Kid told me it was supposed to be a _small_ party, to Crona.

"Hey Crona." I said.

He smiled at me. "Hi Angel."

"So… Maka told me she kissed you."

"Oh, um yes she, uh, did. It's kinda hard for me to deal with."

"It shouldn't be. I know you like her too."

"Yeah. A little."

"Good. Go dance with her or something."

"O-okay."

Crona wandered off in the other direction to Maka. I smiled to myself.

I saw Soul out on a balcony by himself. He was leaning against the railing and looking out at the sky. I walked out to the balcony next to him.

"Hey." I said, gently touching his arm.

"Oh, hi Red." Soul replied.

"Why are you out here by yourself?"

"Parties aren't really my scene."

"Yeah, same here."

Soul smiled at me.

"What?" I asked.

"I got you a present." he said, reaching into his pocket.

"Oh. You really didn't have to."

"I know I didn't."

In his hand was a black box

"Soul…" I started. I didn't know what to say as I opened the box.

Inside was the Maynelia bird necklace. I took it out of the box and turned it over in my hand.

_Happy birthday Red. Love, Soul _was still engraved in the back.

"I-I love it." I told him.

"I'm glad." Soul replied as he place it around my neck.

He gave me his sharp-toothed grin. We just stared at each other for the longest time.

"Dance with me." I finally spoke.

"I dunno. Dancing isn't really my thing."

"Soul, you will freaking dance with me if it's the last thing we both do." I demanded.

He shook his head and smiled again.

"Okay. But we're dancing out here. Just you and me." Soul agreed.

"Deal."

He took my left hand in his and placed the other on my hip as I grasped his shoulder. We moved with the tempo of the slow song playing in the other room. Soul may not have liked dancing, but he wasn't bad. And I wasn't doing too terribly either.

Soul spun me under his arm and pulled me back in.

"Not bad, Soul." I said with a smile.

"Thanks." he replied.

He spun me outward and then dipped me back.

"You're almost as good a dancer as you are a singer, Red." Soul told me.

"Singer? When have you ever heard me sing?"

"I hear you when you're in your little recording studio."

I blushed a little. "You know about that?"

"Yeah. You're pretty good. 'I will fight and I'll sleep when I die. I live my life. I'm alive.' My favorite line." he said, speaking the lyrics as proof to hearing me sing before.

"Thanks…"

"No problem, Red."

I smiled at him when the music ended. It was silent out on the balcony. Then something small and green caught my eye. I looked up, and saw mistletoe hanging above mine and Soul's heads. He saw it too and looked at me with kind eyes.

I brushed back a couple of loose strands of hair behind my ears, suddenly feeling shy. Without warning, Soul grabbed my wrists loosely and I tasted strawberries on my lips. I took me a moment to realize he was actually kissing me. I clutched his collar tightly and kissed him back. His hands were warm on my shoulders and it felt as if we were the only people in Death City, maybe even in all of Nevada.


	22. The Wave

**One Week After the Party**

Time passed, but that's what time does. Soul and I became distant. I wasn't sure why, either. It was a little upsetting to me. He was my best friend, after all. And the day following my party, I went over to his and Maka's house. He stayed in his room the whole time. And honestly, I felt… hurt.

I heard something just outside my window. My eyes flew open and I glanced out the window. I noticed a familiar head of purple ponytail coming up to my front porch. I smiled and ran downstairs. My hand opened the door before Silara was even at the first step.

"Angel! Hey, I'm glad you're up."

"Barely. Come in."

"So, everyone's hitting the beach today."

"Everyone? As in Kid, Liz, Patty, Tsubaki, Black Star, and Maka? And Soul?"

"Yeah. You coming then?"

"Totally. Living in Nevada definitely has its perks."

"Well, duh. Go get dressed and we'll leave."

"'Kay, I'll be down in a sec."

I ran upstairs to my room and changed into my red bikini. It had a halter strap and a knot in the middle that kept it together. There was a silhouette of a soul on the left breast and the bottoms were plain red with knots on the side of them. I put a black fishnet jacket and a white skirt on over my swimsuit, threw my hair into a messy bun, slipped on some red flip-flops, and met Silara downstairs.

"Hey, where's your swimsuit?" I asked her.

"Got it on under my t-shirt and skirt."

"Okay. Let's go."

**At the Beach**

"Hey guys! Long time no see." I said, approaching the group.

"Hi Angel. Haven't really seen ya much since your party." Tsubaki commented.

"Yeah, sorry 'bout that. I've been a little busy."

" 'Sokay. We can all hang out now." Kid told me.

"Totally! Let's hit the water." I shouted, peeling off my jacket, skirt, and flip-flops and running toward the cool water. Something stopped me in my tracks. I felt intensive eyes staring at me. I whipped around the see everyone was talking with one another. Maka arrived and was having a conversation with Silara.

_Where's Soul? _I asked myself.

I looked to my right, and saw him standing near the food stand. He was looking at me, not with anger. But with something I couldn't quite recognize. I walked over to him casually, like I was ordering something.

"Can I get some fries?" I asked the guy at the stand and handed him some money.

He handed me a box of fries and I thanked him. I sat down at a nearby table and ate a few fries. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Soul coming my way. I finished off the last of the fries, got up and walked past him to throw the box away. I didn't speak to him, and I think that was right.

I pretended like I didn't know he was right behind me as I made my way back down to the docks. I stood at the very edge, watching the fish swim by. A gust of wind came, it was strong, and I braced myself. It almost knocked me down. I smiled at my balance and went back to watching all the little schools of fishies. I closed my eyes and felt the water sprinkle my stomach and legs.

Then I fell. Another gust of wind swept by, stronger than the last, causing me to fall backwards. But when I fell, warm hands caught me by the waist. I felt something wet drop onto the top of my head.

"Soul?" I said, realizing who had caught me.

"Uh, yeah?" he asked, letting go of me with one hand.

"You can let go." I told him.

"Oh!" he released me.

I turned around and saw his nose was bleeding.

"What happened?" I asked him, gesturing for him to sit down by the edge.

"Nothing." he told me as he sat down and crossed his legs.

I sat on my knees in front of him and leaned closer for a better look.

"Okay, like I'm gonna believe you got a nosebleed for no reason." I said, cupping his chin in my hands.

"Really, it's fine."

"Whatever. Put your face in the water to slow the bleeding."

"Okay."

He leaned down over the edge and stuck his head in the water.

"Better?" I asked when he emerged.

"Better." he told me.

I smiled at him and he smiled back.

"Well, I'm going swimming." I told him as I stood up. "Coming?"

"Maybe." he said as he stood up too.

"Suit yourself." I replied.

I stepped back a little and ran. When I reached the end, I hurled myself off in a cannon ball. I broke formation and swam farther into the water. I can hold my breath for a good time, and I held it. The water felt cool on my skin as I swam deeper.

When I finally emerged, I noticed everyone was closer to shore, splashing each other and building sand castles. I smiled to see the people closest to me being happy and having fun. But Soul was missing from the bunch. He wasn't at the docks either. I figured he was getting something to eat or whatever. So, I went back underwater.

I opened my eyes and scouted the area. It's weird, yeah, but I have almost _perfect _vision underwater. I saw so many fish and rocks and some coral pieces. It was beautiful. That is, until a massive wave came through and pushed too much water down my throat. I went to suck in some air, but only more water came through. I couldn't reach the surface; more small waves were coming and pushing me down. Next thing I saw was blackness.

_Soul's POV_

I looked around for Angel. I could just barely make out her shape in the water. I swam toward her and stopped. There was a huge wave about to pass, so I took cover underneath a little rock.

When it passed, I went back up for more air. As I dove back down, I noticed Angel wasn't where she had just been. So I looked around more and spotted her. But something wasn't right. Her body was limp and her mouth was open.

_Oh, no. The wave. It must have hit her!_

I swam over to Angel as quickly as possible. Her hair was mostly out of her ponytail and covered her face. I held her shoulders in my arms and swept some hair away. Before I ran out of air again, I shifted her up onto my back and swam up to the surface. We were near the docks, so I kept swimming.

I figured it best to not alert the others and to just play it cool. I dragged Angel up onto one of the docks and climbed up myself. She just lay there, still not moving. I pressed my lips to hers and blew air into her mouth. I did this a couple times before stopping. When I did, I positioned her across my legs and held her up a little. I wasn't sure she was going to breathe again.

_Angel's POV_

I felt air in my lungs. Then, I was being lifted up and something squeezed my left hand where my scar was. I opened my eyes. The only thing I really saw as Soul's face, it was concerned, and then he smiled. This is going to sound incredibly cheesy, but he was glowing. No, wait. It was just the sun behind him.

"Soul…" my voice was hoarse and weak.

"I'm here. Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I think." I sat up more, only to realize I was sitting on his lap.

"Red. I thought… I thought…"

The sound of his voice saying my nickname was amazing.

"I wouldn't die. Not now. Not when I've just found my partner, not when I've only had one battle with a Kishin. And especially not after…" I trailed off. I was going to say 'not after you kissed me' but thought better of it.

"After what?"

"Never mind. I'm fine though." I told him.

I got off of him and stood up. That was a mistake. I suddenly felt dizzy, and fell backward again. And Soul caught me. Again.

"Careful, Red."

"Yeah, I'm trying."

Soul steadied me and I kept walking to the sand. I wasn't quite sure where I was going, I was just walking, I guess. Finally, far from the others, I sat down in a small tidal pool. I gazed out to the horizon, hypnotized by nothing. Soul sat next to me, and I saw him looking at me from the corner of my eye.

"You know, there's no reason to stare at me like I'm a ghost. I told you I wasn't going to die, and you're acting like I did." I said. Not looking at him.

"It feels like _something _died. Died between us." he told me. It caught my attention.

"Like what?"

"I dunno. We always have something to talk about, you and me."

"We're talking now."

"No, we never talk about- I mean something interesting."

"Mm, yeah. That's true. But, I kinda don't feel like talking anyway."

"What do ya wanna do?"

"Relax. For once, relax. I know we'll have another battle coming up. So. I just want. To relax." I told him as I shifted my position and laid my head down in his lap.

I think it caught him off guard, because he just sat there, not saying anything. Then he brushed the hair out of my eyes, leaned back on his hands and said, "That sounds pretty cool."

I smiled up at him and he smiled back. It was perfect.

**_****A/N**

**So, I've already got the last chapter written, not published! But it's written. Chapter 26 is the last one, **_**BUUUUUT **_**if you guys reeeeaaally want more, I may provide a chapter 27, 28, 29, and maaaaybe 30. But you guys have to be loyal and review!**

**Love and hugs,**

**~Marysa**


	23. Kiwi

That unnecessary barrier between Soul and I? Gone. And good riddance. I guess what it took for Soul to have an open-minded conversation with me was me almost dying. But, yeah, whatever. Lesson learned was: never go swimming when there's a wave coming unless it's necessary so you and your best friend can not have some awkward silence anymore.

"Okay. Let's get to the Death Room quickly." I said to Silara.

"Right." she agreed.

We picked up speed and ran down the corridor. There were so many twists and turns, that it confused us terribly. But, eventually, we found the big red door with the brass knob that I had seen on my first day at the academy.

"You wanted to see us, Lord Death?" I asked kindly.

"Oh, yes. Thank you for coming girls. I have another mission for you two."

"Another? Good! Will we be working with the team again?" Silara wondered aloud.

"Eh, no. I want to see how well you girls work on your own!"

"Sounds fun. At least this time there won't be any squabbling about who gets the freaking Kishin egg." I replied.

"Yes, but we _did _get the egg last time."

"Only 'cause that was our first battle."

"Mmm, yeah probably."

"Hello, girls?" Lord Death spoke up.

"Oh, sorry Lord Death."

"It's fine. Now, best be on your way."

"Uh, yeah. There's one problem."

"What's that?"

"We dunno where we're supposed to go."

"Yes, yes. I almost forgot! Now, let's see… oh yes, you'll be headed to Thread Valley against Ekans."

"Thread Valley. Got it. Silara, let's go."

We left the Death Room and made our way down to Thread Valley.

**At Thread Valley**

"So, where's the kishin?" Silara asked.

Just after she spoke, there was a deafening scream.

"I think I found it!" I shouted.

In response, Silara transformed into a katana and I started running in the direction the scream came from. There was hissing noise, and another ear-splitting scream that was cut short. Upon reaching the scene, I noted the dead woman and snake-person with shimmering green scales covering his bald head, back, arms, and legs. The only coverage it had on was a pair of shredded shorts. It held the blue, wispy soul in one hand and its fork tongue was flicking back and forth.

Ekans, as I assumed was the snake-person-kishin, swallowed the soul and licked his lips.

"More supper? No, I couldn't possibly!" he said once he saw us.

"That's right, 'cause you're not." I said, swinging Silara around.

"It's gonna take more than a little girl with a blade to defeat me."

"I know. This blade is my weapon, I'm the meister. We're a team. And teams often win."

"Ekans can't be beaten at all."

"We'll see about that."

He stood there, arms out and tongue flicking, ready for a blow. I gave him what he wanted, too. I stabbed him in the stomach, only have him pull Silara out and run around behind me.

"You're making me dizzy! Knock it off!" I shouted.

I closed my eyes and waited to hear where he was. I could hear the wind rushing and his footsteps pulsing the ground. Finally, I took a lucky shot and threw Silara behind me. I heard a loud thud and opened my eyes. With a smirk on my face, I whipped around to see Ekans lying on the ground with Silara plunged into his ribs.

"That was quick." Silara said, appearing in the blade.

"Only one problem." I told her.

"What's that?"

"He isn't turning into a Kishin egg."

Ekans smiled and stood up. "I was wondering how long it'd take for you to figure 'at out."

He winced as he pulled Silara out of his slimy little reptilian body.

"You know, Ekans. You. Are. Really. Starting. To piss me off." I informed snake-man.

"I know!" he said cheerfully.

I gritted my teeth and lunged at him. I threw a couple punches at him and kicked him in his jaw. There was a sickening crack and I smiled wickedly. My breath was ragged as I stood in front of him. Ekans still wasn't dead, obviously.

"Tsk, tsk. I really thought you were better than this." Ekans told me.

"Shut up!" I barked.

"Shut don't go up, prices do. So just take your own advice and shut. Up. Too." he said in a sing-songy voice.

I narrowed my eyes and was squeezing Silara so hard my nails dug into my palms.

"Oh, am I upsetting you?" Ekans mocked me.

I stood there with my eyes closed and breathed deeply.

"Are you afraid? Are you, now? I can end this quickly if you would just put the sword dow-" he started snidely.

My eyes flew open and my face became very, very grim. "That's enough!" I shouted, interrupting him.

"W-well. You sure are fierce now." Ekans stuttered. I had caught him off guard.

"Yeah I am! And you know what you are?"

"Wh-what?"

"An idiot Kishin who's gonna get his ass kicked!" I yelled.

Silara smirked in the blade and her eyes shone. I took another deep breath and closed my eyes again. I stood very still, and I may have even looked like I was turned into a statue. But, in reality, I was searching for something. Silara's soul to be exact. Finally, I found it, right at the heart of the battle. The whole thing is kind of hard to explain, but there it was. I-well, _my_ soul- moved closer to her soul and touched it.

"Silara." I whispered. Her soul opened its eyes.

"Angel?" she whispered back.

I smiled and held onto her. "We have to beat Ekans. He's difficult, but we really have to connect to do this."

"Yes, Angel. I know."

"Good. So, are you ready?"

"You know it!"

I smiled again and connected my soul to hers.

I opened my eyes and there was a light coming from the hand I held Silara in. And suddenly, her blade was bigger and tints of red and very dark purple shone on the edges.

_Is this… Soul Resonance? _I wondered. But I didn't really care at that moment. I lunged at Ekans and slashed him in half. I never could have done that if Silara hadn't all of a sudden changed.

Ekans disappeared, leaving behind a red Kishin egg, wrapped in black bandages. Then, just the egg. Silara changed back into human form and grabbed the egg.

"Soul told me to eat it. I ate the last one. Should I? Like, just eat them?" she asked me.

I nodded my head with a smile. "Sure. There's no reason not to."

"Okay. Here goes."

Silara opened her mouth and lowered the egg. She chewed for a second, then swallowed and let out a sigh.

"So? What did it taste like?" I asked her, a bit on the curious side.

"Like… really tangy, yet sweet. Like kiwi. I like it." she told me with a smile on her face.


	24. Soul Thief

"Soul Thief." Lord Death said with a nod.

"Excuse me, 'Soul _what_'?" Silara asked, placing her hands on her hips.

"Soul Thief. The name of your resonance."

"My… okay what the heck is _'our resonance'_?"

"Dammit, Stein… he's supposed to be teaching us about battle techniques and Kishins. But instead he's teaching us the art of dissection." I spoke up.

"I understand that. And because of it, I don't know what a retzonatas is, or whatever." Silara replied.

"That's _resonance_." I corrected her.

"Soul Resonance is a special technique used by meisters and weapons, in which, they match their Souls' Wavelength. By doing this, they can release highly powerful techniques and, more often than not, change the tide of a battle." Lord Death explained to her.

She still seemed puzzled though. "I still don't get it."

"Okay. Here's a way that you might understand. A meister and a weapon are like an electric guitar and an amp. The sound that comes from an electric guitar, or in this case a meister, by itself is rather faint. But when you connect an amp, or weapon, to it, the sound, or Soul Wavelength, is amplified, giving it a lot of power." Lord Death told Silara.

"Oh, I get it. So when Angel and I connected our souls…" she waited for me to finish.

"We created Soul Resonance."

"Precisely!" he said happily. "And Soul Thief is the name of your resonance."

"Why Soul Thief?" Silara asked.

"I dunno. I don't pick the names."

I smiled at that. It was a little funny to me.

"Yeah, thanks Lord Death. But we should probably get to class." I told him, pulling on Silara's arm.

"Oh yes! Have a good day girls!"

"Okay, we will." Silara chimed.

We left the Death Room and went down to Class Crescent Moon.

**In Class**

This was beginning to irritate me. I raised my hand slowly as Stein was about to make the first incision in the creature.

"Yes Angel?"

"I was wondering. Why don't you teach us the things we're supposed to be learning here at the DWMA?" I asked. "And don't freaking stare at me! It's rather creepy." I added when everyone turned to look at me. They all looked away.

"Because, Angel, I do not know exactly how to teach those things. Really, only dissection."

"But aren't you some sorta all-mighty meister or something?"

He smiled. "Yes I am. That doesn't mean I know how to _teach others _my skills."

I slammed my fist on my desk. "Then why the hell are you a teacher here in the first place?" I yelled.

"Why don't you take that up with Lord Death? Or come up here and teach us about… Soul Resonance!"

I had literally just talked to Lord Death. And about Soul Resonance.

"I'm pretty sure just about everyone here already knows about Soul Resonance. But, if you insist."

I wedged my way through Kid, Silara, and Liz's legs and walked down the steps to the front of the class behind the teacher's desk. I saw Silara smirking from her seat.

"Soul Resonance," I began, deciding to completely quote Lord Death, word-by-word, "is a special technique used by meisters and weapons, in which, they match their Souls' Wavelength. By doing this, they can release highly powerful techniques and, more often than not, change the tide of a battle." I said it rather quickly, proving I knew exactly what it was.

Many of the students' mouths were agape, dropped open in little O's. I smiled deviously.

"What? I'm not an idiot, you know." I informed them with a shrug. "Now, can I have an example?" I said in a very teacher-like manner.

I was honestly shocked to see a couple students raise their hands. Among those hands were Maka, Kid and Patty, Black Star (not at all a surprise), Kanari, and a kid whose name I remembered to be Kilik.

"Kanari and Cupid. Oh, and Kid, Liz, and Patty." I called. Kanari smiled widely and grabbed Cupid's arm as she ran down in front of me. Liz and Patty followed behind Kid as they walked down the steps, not in much of a hurry.

There was a bright glow from Cupid as she transformed into a battle-axe with a heart for a blade. Kanari caught here flawlessly. She closed her eyes and held Cupid in her hands tightly.

"Let's go, Soul Resonance! Warrior Seeker!" Kanari shouted, along with Cupid who had appeared in the blade.

An incredibly large glow came from Kanari's hands and Cupid became a two-bladed battle-axe, both shaped of hearts. The staff became longer and a bit blacker than the silver color it had been before.

Liz and Patty were already changed into pistols and Kid had his eyes closed. And in the blink of an eye, Liz and Patty had become sort of cannon looking things attached to Kid's arms.

"Death Cannon!" he yelled, pointing his arms toward Kanari.

"Stein, is okay if they have a short battle?" I asked, not really caring. I was going to let them either way.

"Sure. They break it, they buy it." Stein replied.

I pointed at them both, signaling the beginning of the fight.

**Days Later**

I pretty much taught about Soul Resonance every day. It felt as if I was doing something productive, but people were less afraid of me. This made me a little upset, like I'd lost some of my edge. At least they weren't coming up to me and acting as if I were their best friend.

"So, I've been thinking." Soul said to me as we walked down the street.

"What about?" I asked him, flipping some hair out of my face.

"Well… kind of about… at your birthday party…" he started shyly.

I knew what he meant. "You mean… the kiss."

"Uh, yeah."

"Mhmm. What about it?"

"I don't really know. I mean, after it, like not the night of, but the day next on until the beach, I was kind of a jerk to you."

"Pft, yeah ya were!" I was only joking. A little.

"Yeah, and it wasn't cool of me. Complete opposite, actually."

"So? I know all of this."

"I know that. But I felt like I needed to tell you how I felt about it all."

I fell silent as we rounded a corner down a different street.

"The kiss was… good, really. And after it, our friendship felt awkward. So I kinda just tried to stay away from you."

"Oh? Yeah, I agree."

"Wait. About which part?"

"All of it."

"Even about the kiss being good?"

"Well, yeah, I guess. It would have to be good coming from a guy as cool as my best friend. And it _was _my first kiss, after all."

Soul blushed and I smiled. He slipped his hand into mine and squeezed it. I squeezed back and he smiled, showing his teeth.

"I love your smile." I heard myself say.

My face burned red and I bit my lip as I mentally slapped myself. _No, stupid! Why did you say that out loud?_

"I like your smile, too Red." Soul replied.

We walked into the diner and sat at the nearest booth. Something struck me all of a sudden.

"Soul, this isn't a date is it?"

"No! No, it's not a date at all. Just, hanging out."

"Okay. Good."

The waitress came up to us and asked what we wanted.

"Cheeseburger, fries, and a chocolate shake." I told her.

"Same thing, but a strawberry shake." Soul said after me.

_Strawberries… He must love them. _I thought to myself.

"What's up with you and strawberries? It's like the main thing you eat when you're around me." I said, on purpose this time.

"I dunno, I just like them." he answered with a shrug.

I smiled. "Hey, if this isn't a date, then why are still holding hands?"

Realizing what I just said, we both pulled away quickly.


	25. First Christmas

We were all gathered around the table, talking at once and shoving food into our mouths. A couple of us wore red and green, the holiday colors. Even I was festive enough to mix in some green. My hair was pulled back into a half-ponytail and was tipped with temporary green hair-dye. Sporting a red tank-top with a green belt, black skirt, and, yes of course, my black converse with green knee-highs, I definitely felt in the Christmas spirit. Silara had her usual ponytail, and she wore a green dress with sleeves down to her elbows, but had slits that showed her shoulders. The dress was barely any longer than Maka's skirt, and she had red stockings on wither usual black boots. Everyone was at least wearing one color or the other, even Black Star.

"Hey, sorry we're late." Soul's voice came from the doorway.

We all turned to see him and Maka sitting down at the table. Maka had on the prettiest white dress with a sparkly poinsettia broach pinned to one of the straps and green flats. Soul was wearing a nice pair of jeans and a red button-down. His hair wasn't in its usual headband, but in a cool messy manner. He sat next to me, Maka on the other side of him.

"No problem, you guys didn't miss anything." I told them.

"Good. And thanks again Kid for letting us have dinner at your place this year! I'm totally sick of Blaire always-" Maka started.

"Okay Maka. Let's not go there." Soul interrupted, peering at me from the corner of his eyes.

I smirked. "No, no. Continue Maka. If Soul's trying to hide something about Blaire, then it outta be funny." I told her.

"Really, it's nothing." Maka said, shrugging her shoulders.

"If it's nothing then why is Soul hiding it?"

Everyone snickered except Soul.

"Well, every time we have everyone over for dinner, Blaire jumps on Soul and the other boys wearing either nothing, or just a towel. And then Soul gets a nosebleed." she told me.

I burst out laughing, so did Silara. Soul looked annoyed at us, and it made me laugh harder. "So Blaire's got a crush on you, huh Soul?" I joked.

"Shut up!" he snapped.

My laughing slowed a little, as I had one more question. "Why does he get a nosebleed?"

"He gets one whenever he's around an attractive girl wearing barely any clothes." Maka informed me, shoving ham into her mouth.

Soul's face was beet red, and I think mine was too. Now I knew why he got a nosebleed when he caught me at the beach. I was for sure done asking questions, and was all for the food at that point. As soon as I started shoving some fried potatoes in my mouth, the talking started up again. I was relieved to know we were all past embarrassing Soul for the time being.

**Thirty Minutes Later**

"Gimme some of that cherry pie." I said to Tsubaki.

She smiled and handed me a good sized piece. I thanked her with my own smiled and crammed the pie down my throat.

"Do ya like cherry, Angel?" Crona asked with a giggle.

"It's my absolute _favorite_!" I told him, taking a few more bites.

Everyone laughed and I laughed too. I felt warm inside and couldn't help but smile.

**One Hour Later**

I settled the Santa Claus hat on top my head and giggled. Kid had talked me into another picture. This one for Christmas purposes, obviously, and Silara had the idea to have some of us wearing antlers and Santa Claus hats. Silara, Patty, Black Star, Crona and I were the Santa Clauses and everyone else was to wear the antlers. Except Soul was neglecting the antlers and I was determined to get them on his head.

"Okay guys, get in position! Timer's going and it's set for ten seconds." Maka informed everyone.

I stood in between Crona and Soul and held a pair of antlers in my hand behind my back. I counted to eight and whipped the antlers onto Soul's head. The flash went off and we stood still for a second, then he threw them off and looked at me with really annoyed look. When he saw I was laughing, he smiled at me, took my hat off and hit me with it in my shoulder.

"Can't wait to see how that one turned out!" I said, reaching for the camera.

I scrolled through the pictures, looking for the most recent, with Soul and Maka leaning over my shoulder. Finally I found it. I smiled the second it appeared on the screen.

Maka was on the end, touching the top of her antlers with one hand and the other on her hip. Soul had his hands in his pockets, he was facing the camera but looking at me from the corner of his eye and his mouth was open a little. My arm was around Soul's shoulders and my other hand was holding the antlers down on his head, and it looked like I was patting his head. My smile was big and my eyes sparkled with happiness while my Santa hat leaned at a jaunty angle. Crona was standing straight with his hands clasped in front of him and the tip of his hat hung down right at the side of his face. Silara was obviously holding Kid's hand and I thought it was adorable. Kid was smiling and blushing at the same time, which made the hand-holding more adorable. Liz had her back to him and was smirking as she pointed her thumb at Kid. Patty had a huge smile, as usual. Her hands were up in the air and she was standing on one foot. Black Star was smiling this time and throwing a fake punch at the camera. Tsubaki was smiling too, of course, and had her arm around Black Star.

_That's cute. _I thought.

"Hey, Kid can you print this out for me?" I asked him.

He smiled. "Yeah, of course."

"Thanks."

I saw Silara move toward a radio and pop in a CD. Suddenly, rock and roll Christmas music was on and loud. Liz turned off the lights and Patty flipped on colored lights. Christmas dinner had turned into a Christmas party. Fun.

Someone grabbed my hand and spun me around under their arm.

"Soul!" I shouted over the music with a smile.

"Hey, Red!" he shouted back. "Wanna dance?"

"I thought you didn't like dancing."

"I don't. But you do."

"Since when? I don't normally dance, I sing."

"Then sing!"

"Uh, no."

"Fine, then. Let's go."

He pulled me away from the music and our dancing friends into an empty room.

"What's up?"

"Nothing. Just wanted to talk."

"What about."

"Anything."

"Okay. What about that day at the beach?"

"What about it?"

"One word. Nosebleed."

Soul blushed. "Ah…"

"I'm waiting."

He stayed silent. "I'm kidding. I know we're just friends." I told him, a lump suddenly forming in my throat. His blush deepened.

"Yeah, okay."

I smiled and hugged him. I started to cry silently. Why I cried, was because I realized this was the first Christmas I had celebrated in years. And I was celebrating it with people I loved who loved me back.

**A/N**

**Hey, I just wanna say, I wrote this originally around Christmas time, so yeah. Merry belated Christmas! That's it.**

**~Marysa**


	26. Coolest Person I Know

I finished putting away the dishes I had just washed and smiled. A week's worth of chores done in a day seemed like a nice accomplishment to me. I checked the time on my cell phone and grabbed my keys and walked out the door. I haven't recorded anything in two months and it was about time I did _something_. I had recorded all my own songs, so there was nothing left to do but a cover-song.

**At Angel's Recording Studio**

Perfect, absolutely perfect. It was the best song for me to record at the time being. I started up the song with a huge smile on my face and set the headphones around my neck. Because it was Sunday, I figured no one would be around except Lord Death, but if he was in the Death Room, he'd be all the way on the other side of the school. Even so, I closed the door and cranked up the volume for my own pleasure. When the chorus came, I switched out 'girl' for 'boy' since I myself am a chick and not a dude.

"… Oh, but hold your breath. Because tonight will be the night that I will fall for you over again, don't make me change my mind. Or I won't live to see another day, I swear it's true. Because a boy like you is impossible to find. You're impossible to find.

"So breathe in so deep. Breathe me in! I'm yours to keep. And hold onto your words, 'cause talk is cheap. And remember me tonight. When you're asleep."

The song slowed a little. "Because tonight will be the night that I will fall for you. Over again. Don't make me change my mind. Or I won't live to see another day, I swear it's true. Because a boy like you is impossible to find."

I continued on with Secondhand Serenade's song until I was finished. It seemed impossible to find my voice afterwards; I was pretty much shouting the whole thing. I closed up shop and wandered down the halls of the school. I noticed a wall with a bunch of plaques on it. I've seen it before and have walked past it numerous times, but never paid any attention to it. I realized they were missions, pretty much free for the taking. I found it odd, since all the missions I had, though I only had two, were just handed to me and Silara.

"Angel. What are you doing here?" Stein's voice came.

I froze, caught off guard. Slowly, I turned to face him. "I was ju-just… exploring? And… looking for new missions."

"I don't believe you."

"Good for you, Screw-and-Stitches. I _do _lie a lot, but we all do sometime in our lives. Anyway, see ya later. I got things to do, places to be, and people to see."

"Have fun with that."

"Will do, _sensei_. Bye, Stein."

"Goodbye, Angel."

With that, I left. What else was there to do? Nothing, that's what. Once I got home, all I did was watch _Howl's Moving Castle _and listen to some awesome Japanese music. I lost myself in the music and began to dance. Nothing major, like flips or break-dancing. Just some shaking and swaying, the basics really. 'Black Papermoon' faded out and I ended with one last spin on my tiptoes. Afterwards, boredom rung through the kingdom of my home and I decided to go for a ride on my very, very old skateboard. Riding down the street, I felt like Kid. I had only ever seen him skate once, but I knew he was pretty good. I could do simple tricks, like a kick-flip and grinding, but that's absolutely nothing compared to Kid. As I glided around the corner to the area of the park, I heard a thumping noise.

_Someone must be playing basketball._ I thought, my converse pounding the sidewalk as I gained speed. I came to the court and saw familiar spiky white hair. He shot the ball through the hoop and I rode onto the court, circled him, and kicked the board up into my hand.

"Hey, Red. Nice to see you."

"Back at'cha Soul. You alone?"

"Yeah, needed time to think."

"About what?"

"Dunno. Life, I guess."

"Makes sense. Can I play?"

"Sure."

He tossed me the ball and I smirked. "Fair warning, you're gonna get creamed."

"Yeah, right!"

I giggled and threw the ball over my shoulder. Soul's face looked shocked, in a good way, as we both heard a swoosh sound from the net.

"You were saying?"

"Never mind."

"Yeah, that's what I thought."

I retrieved the ball and handed it to him. Then, the game started.

**A Little While Later**

We laughed about how terrible my shot was and Soul grabbed the ball. He dribbled and was about to make the shot. But I ran in front of him and snatched it from his hands. I heard a thump and turned around. Soul was laying on the ground, rubbing his elbow. It came to my attention that I had just knocked him down. I dropped the ball and held out my hand.

"Dammit. Soul, I'm so sorry!" I apologized.

The wind blew the hair out of my face as he took my hand and I helped him up.

"It's fine, Red. I'm alright."

"Okay, good. Let's get back to playing!"

"Sure."

I dribbled the ball and passed it to Soul. He just stood there a second. Then he dropped it and looked at me.

"Angel, do you think I'm cool?" Soul asked, avoiding my gaze.

I was little shocked, he hadn't called me anything but 'Red' in such a long time.

"Of course, Soul. You're the coolest person I know." I said, smiling slightly.

"… Can I ask you something then?"

"Um, sure."

"I guess that I think you're really cool. Like, as in, I really like you…" Soul told me as he rubbed the back of his neck, trying to keep his precious cool.

My heart flipped. "I-I like you too, Soul." I replied back, suddenly feeling shy. Like the night of my birthday party.

I took a step forward and took his hands in mine. "In fact, I think I love you."

Soul smiled, leaning closer and closer. Finally, he kissed me. I kissed back confidently as I let go of his hands slowly and wrapped my arms around his neck. He gently slid his hands down my back to my hips. I pulled away smiling.

"I love you too." Soul tells me.

I kissed his cheek and suddenly snatched the ball from the ground. I ran past him, making a slam-dunk.

"Hey, that was so not cool!" Soul said, laughing.

He grabbed me from behind and growled playfully. "Now it's time for payback."

**A/N**

**Hiiiii! So… WASN'T THAT THE MOST KAWAII THING EVER?! You don't have to agree, but you should. Anyway, I gotta give credit to Secondhand Serenade for their awesome song 'Fall for You' and then the creator's of **_**Howl's Moving Castle**_**. **

**This was originally gonna be the end of the story, buuuuut you guys are just too awesome, so there are more chapters to come. And possibly a sequel, but I dunno.**

**Love and hugs,**

**~Marysa**


	27. Spiritual Dimension

It was a tactic, I learned, that was used by many, especially meisters. To explore one's soul in order to control its abilities better. Maka was the one who recommended it to me. I think it was called Soul Exploration. Anyway, it was late at night. Silara had just left, and I was alone. Since Soul and I told each other our feelings, I hadn't had much alone-time. But now I did, and it was the perfect time. Well, maybe not perfect. I was growing tired.

As I sat on my bed, my legs crossed and eyes closed, I concentrated on only my soul. Then, I fell asleep.

The room had a welcoming feeling to it, despite the fact that I had never laid eyes on it before. In the corner was an antique loveseat with red velvet cushions. Across from it was a dark wood bookshelf, and it was completely filled with books. All of them were either maroon or navy-blue. To the side was a bar counter, also made of the darker wood, and matching stools, plush with more red velvet. In the center of the room sat a tall and thin black pole with a navy blue candle sticking out of the top. The candle was lit, but the flames were seriously purple.

The walls were black and red with the pattern of a checkers board. The carpet was white and very soft. I then realized I was barefoot, and looked down at myself. I was wearing a white button-down, long sleeved blouse tucked in a crimson colored skirt, and a black fedora with a red ribbon wrapped around it. My hair was still down and my scar was barely visible underneath the sleeve.

I wandered over to the bookshelf and ran my fingers along the books' spines. As I pulled out a random book, I notice it was all just blank pages. There was no writing in it whatsoever. And all of the books were lacking titles. Weirded out, I put the book back on the shelf. Behind the bar was a bunch of records. I pulled one out and stood up.

All of a sudden, a record player appeared on the bar. I figured I just hadn't noticed it, and placed the record in the slot, and played the music. It was jazz music. Despite my love for other styles and genres, I really liked it. I laughed at something to myself. A realization had come to me when the jazz started playing; Soul _loved _jazz! And then, I looked over at the burning candle and the purple flame. Silara's soul, and her hair, was purple. They were the two people I was most connected with.

I felt very relaxed and I laid down on the loveseat. There was that lovely sound of jazz surrounding me. Smiling, I drifted off into a peaceful sleep….

As I opened my eyes, I realized I was still sitting criss-cross and upright on my bed. I hadn't fallen asleep, I had just entered my Spiritual Dimension. I never even knew I had one. Then I started thinking, what if I had never met Silara and Soul? What would it be like then? If I had never met any of my friends? My life would be so different. I loved it just the way it was.

My heart grew warm at the thought. Smiling to myself, I grabbed my cell phone and punched in Silara's number.

"Hello?" her voice came through.

"Silara? It's Angel."

"Dude, I _just _left your house. What?"

"Can you come back over?"

"What? Why?"

"Just do it."

There was a sigh on the other end. "Okay."

"Thanks…"

"Uh-huh."

I hung up the phone. I needed to have some time with Silara. Yeah, she was just over, but some emoting time.

**Silara's Arrival**

"What did you need?" Silara asked me.

"Nothing. I just wanted to talk to you." I told her as we walked out the door.

"But I was just over."

"I know, I know. But something happened and I need to talk to you."

Concern was written on her face. I smiled warily as I guided her to the park. We kept on walking until we were at some sort of fountain. Like the kind that you'd toss coins into. I sat down on the ledge, and Silara followed suit.

"I found my Spiritual Dimension. A little bit after you left. And after, I got to thinking. And I just wanted to tell you that I love you. You're like my sister, and I don't know how I'd be able to live without you…" tears dotted my eyes, "I just had to tell you that. In case anything ever happened to either of us. You're the greatest partner ever, Silara. And you'll be one of the most powerful Death Scythes ever, I just know it."

Tears trickled down my cheeks. Soon, Silara was crying to. She pulled me into a hug.

"God, Angel. I love you too." Silara told me.

I made some sort of choking noise as I smiled through my tears. We pulled away from each other, and I giggled for some reason.

"Silara, I want you to live with me. I mean, everybody else lives with their partner. I think it's high time I do too. We need each other."

"Yes, we do. I'll get my stuff packed up tomorrow, and I'll come to live with you."

"Great! I have so many extra rooms."

"I know! This'll be good for us."

"Of course it will!"

**Later that Day**

Silara and I trekked back home in silence. I had told her everything I needed that I needed to. She had done the same for me.

About halfway there, a girl started walking towards us. I had no idea who it was, and neither did Silara. We picked up speed. So did the girl. She drew closer and closer, her yellow-green hair bobbing up and down. I caught a glimpse of her face. It couldn't be! Except there was no doubt about it. I thought I was just seeing things. But, then again, Silara saw her too. I thought I'd never see her again, and was glad about it. Yet there she was. The girl following me and Silara, probably mainly me, was my ex-weapon; Atami.

**A/N**

**AFTER THE FIRST PARAGRAPH, YOUR EYES ARE RQUIRED TO READ!**

**Dun-dun-duuun! Shocker, right? Anyway, I'd like to thank kid love for giving me the idea. Way back in chapter 12 was when the idea was posted, but I'm just now getting to put it in the story. Thank you, kid love! Without you, this chapter would've ended with Angel finding her Spiritual Dimension. This was dedicated to you, kid love, enjoy!**

**Now… I'm taking requests, but only two will be selected. I need ideas for the last chapter, on how I should end it.**

**Don't ya just hate it when a story ends the way you DIDN'T want it to? Yeah, so here's your chance to get this story ended just the opposite! Simply type your idea in the box below, and my few otaku friends and I will judge it. The two best will be in the last chapter (chapter 30), and credit will be rewarded to the one who had the idea.**

**Love and hugs,**

**~Marysa**


	28. Atami's Return

I grabbed Silara's arm and made our pace quicken even more. She was obviously confused, and I'd tell her later. But at the moment, my focus was completely on getting away from Atami. Finally we were at the entrance to my house. But I couldn't let her _know _where I lived. So I pulled Silara passed my house, and made her walk through the cemetery. Already, she knew about "my" grave. She just hadn't seen it.

We stopped in front the angel that had my little face on it. As I knelt down to the ground, so many memories surfaced. I shoved them in the back my brain. Except for the few with Atami. How could I with her just twenty yards away? I pulled Silara down next to me.

"That girl. She's my old partner." I whispered.

"Atami? How the he-"

"I don't know. We just have to lose her. Quickly!"

We stood and ran. Fast. Soon, Silara and I were back at the park. I climbed a tree and pulled her up. Panting, I looked to see where Atami was. She was running towards the row of trees Silara and I had gone into. She stood at the base of our tree, looked around, and kept walking. When she was clear of our area, I hopped down and helped Silara.

"Man, I'm beat…" I muttered.

"Yeah, let's hurry up and go down to Kid's or something."

I nodded in agreement. We started walking again, and were almost to Kid's. But, a hand grabbed my shoulder, and pulled me backwards.

"Angel. Hi. I've been trying to talk to you." Atami's voice came.

"I noticed…" I mumbled to her.

"Really? Same old Angel."

"Whatever you say."

Silara and I were about to leave, but then, "Who's that?"

"Um, this is Silara. My weapon."

"But… I thought I was… your weapon…?"

"'Was', being the key word there."

"Oh, I see."

"Do you? Good. Then leave me the hell alone. You had your chance, and you blew it."

"But, I-"

"Save it. I don't care about what you have to say, so just leave me."

"Angel-"

"No! Go away! Since you've left, Angel's had a better life. Sure, she was rude, but not anymore. She teaches classes about Soul Resonance at the academy. We've collected a total of twenty kishin eggs since we were partners. You didn't help her collect any. Because you _lied_. What was the point of that, anyway? Hmm? Not a point, at all. So leave me alone, and especially leave _Angel _alone!"

Silara had completely blown up in Atami's face. I laughed, and hugged my best friend.

"You take care now, Atami." I said, and walked off in the other direction.

**At Kid's**

As Silara finished telling them everything, I took it all in myself. I didn't completely have time to comprehend it as it happened. All I knew, and know now, is that Atami came after me and Silara, and that she still thought of herself as my partner.

What an idiot! I was so dumb to think I'd never see that girl again. But the universe just loves to go and prove me wrong. Doesn't it?

After a long silence of thinking, I told them I was fine. That, however, was a partial lie. On no level was I completely fine slash unfazed by this. Soul took my hand in his, and I laid my head on his shoulder.

It came as a shock to no one that Soul and I had feelings for each other. Black Star had just nodded in approval, Tsubaki commenting she always knew there was a connection, Kid saying how when we were together, we'd better be ASAP (in this case, As Symmetrical As Possible), Patty just saying how if we ever got a pet that it should be a giraffe, and Liz grumbling over how she still didn't have a boyfriend, but was happy for us. Maka almost teared up, she never thought Soul would have had the guts to tell me, and my dear Silara threatened him by saying, quote on quote, "Do not hurt Angel in any way, shape, or form, less there will be Hell to pay."

While the others chewed on this new information found, Soul and I snuck away to the other room.

"I'm really sorry, Red." he told me, rubbing my thumb with his.

"It's not your fault. None at all."

"I know, but-"

"Hey. I'm over it. If the bitch comes back, you can totally kick her ass for me."

He cracked a smile. I ran a hand through his hair, and hugged him tightly.

"You know I'd do anything for you…" he whispered in my hair.

"Yeah, I know."

I pulled back, and we shared a deep kiss.

**A/N**

**YOUR EYES ARE RQUIRED TO READ THIS!**

**Yo! Sorry! i'm reeeeaaaaaaally sorry for the long wait, but I have a bit of a case of writers' block, and because of it, this is my shortest chapter yet… But I think it was still good. I had no more inspiration to continue this chapter further. Now, I know I did this last chapter, but I'm doing it again, so… I'm taking requests, but only two will be selected. I need ideas for the last chapter, on how I should end it.**

**Don't ya just hate it when a story ends the way you DIDN'T want it to? Yeah, so here's your chance to get this story ended just the opposite! Simply type your idea in the box below, and my few otaku friends and I will judge it. The two best will be in the last chapter (chapter 30), and credit will be rewarded to the one who had the idea.**

**Love and hugs,**

**~Marysa**


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